New Delhi: The Double Bronze Medalist of Paris Olympics 2024, Manu Bhaker was felicitated by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on behalf of the entire seafarer’s community on Friday.
Bhaker, who is the daughter of a seasoned seafarer, was felicitated with a phoolam gamusa, a model ship, and a cheque of Rs 10 lakh from the Indian Ports Association (IPA), in recognition of her outstanding feat of being the only Indian to win two Bronze medals in a single Olympics.
Manu Bhaker also interacted with young seafarers among others. The champion shooter shared how she imbibed the values of discipline, dedication and focus after being raised in a seafarer’s family.
Sonowal also felicitated the Bhaker’s mother Sumedha Bhaker and her father Ram Kishan Bhaker.
Bhaker works as a Chief Engineer on a merchant navy ship.
Speaking on the occasion Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “The phenomenal achievement of Manu Bhaker at the Paris Olympics signifies her perseverance and relentless strive towards excellence. She represents the undying spirit of India’s youth aspirations to aim for greatness and with a morale to achieve it.”
“Manu Bhaker is an inspiration to all of us, especially for our young seafarers, as she rightly identified how she imbibed the values of discipline, dedication and focus from her family and during her growing up years amidst the seafarer’s community. Her words of inspiration for our young seafarers will boost their resolve to aim and strive for excellence in their chosen field of profession,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Manu Bhaker said, “I have fond memories of sailing on ships during summer holidays with my father, mother and brother. Those journeys were more than just vacations as it enriched me with learnings from different languages, cultures, and ways of life. I struggled many challenges along the way, but they only strengthened my resolve.”
She added, “I believe in pushing beyond limits – ‘Go big, then Go Home.’ It is about giving your all, knowing that the journey itself is as important as the destination, something, I think, that is intrinsic to seafarers community as any seafarer could relate to it.”
Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “I must thank Manu Bhaker ji for her recent performance at the Olympics as she becomes the only player to win two medals in the 10 Meters Air Pistol event.”
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Sonowal added, “I also thank the parents of Manu Bhaker ji for their support in honing the wonderful skill that their daughter has honed to win laurels for the country. She is going to win many more medals for the country as she has the ability, potential, vision, dedication, devotion, commitment and hard work to shine again and again. For Manu ji, our country is and will always be proud of her.”
The event was also graced by the Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), TK Ramachandran; Joint Secretary, MoPSW, R Lakshmanan; Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), Vijay Kumar among others.
