Manu Bhaker, born on February 18, 2002, in Jhajjar, Haryana, India is an Indian sport shooter who has made a significant mark in the shooting field at a very young age. She won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the women’s 10-metre air pistol event. Manu Bhaker made history by winning her 2nd medal at a single Olympic Games (Paris Olympics 2024), as she clinched a bronze medal in the 10m mixed team pistol event, partnering Sarabjot Singh.
Manu Bhaker Early Life & Education
Manu Bhaker was born on February 18, 2002, in Jhajjar, Haryana, a state known for its boxers and wrestlers. She, however, took to sports like tennis, skating, and boxing in school and also participated in a form of martial arts called ‘thang ta’, winning medals at the national level.
Manu Bhaker completed her schooling at Universal Senior Secondary School in Goriya village, Haryana. Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy.
Manu Bhaker International Career
With an investment of ₹1,50,000 by her father, Bhaker decided to take up competitive shooting.
She first tasted success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships.
In the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held in Guadalajara, Mexico. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women’s 10-meter air pistol and scored 237.5 in the final match.
Bhaker won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the 10-meter Air Pistol mixed team event.
She secured the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, setting a new Commonwealth Games record of 240.9 points.
At the Youth Olympics 2018, Manu Bhaker shot 236.5 to stand at the top of the points table in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
In February 2019 she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Delhi.
She won the team gold for India in the women’s 25m pistol team event at the 2022 Asian Games.
Tokyo Olympics Breakdown
In May 2019 she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 10m pistol event via a fourth. In the Tokyo Olympics, her pistol jammed in the finals of the 25m pistol event when she was leading, eventually forcing her to forfeit due to her gun not being able to fire.
After the Tokyo Games, Manu felt like she was “done” with the sport. After a disastrous outing by Manu and the other Indian shooters who failed to win a medal, dirty linen was washed in the public. Her coach Jaspal Rana was even blamed by the national federation for creating a rift in the team.
The Tokyo heartbreak was too much to handle. In 2023, Manu Bhaker found shooting boring, it became “like a 9 to 5 job” for her. Manu lost the spark that fuelled her to pick up the pistol as a 14-year-old.
But, Later on, Manu decided to pick the shooting again. Both the shooter and the coach buried the hatchet and worked together again. The fire was lit again. Manu was locked and reloaded for the next big target — the Paris Olympics.
From the turmoil of Tokyo to the historic double-medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics
She also shot herself into the history books as the country’s first woman shooter to win an Olympic Games medal. She won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the women’s 10-metre air pistol event.
A few days later, she added more shine to her cabinet as she won the bronze medal in the 10m mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh, becoming the first athlete in independent India to win two medals at the same Olympics.
The young shooter looked calm and composed and, thankfully, did not have any snag in her pistol as she shot 221.7 to clinch the bronze medal and become an unmissable part of India’s Olympic history.
Manu Bhaker Social Media
Extremely humbled by the support and wishes that have been pouring in. This is something that I've always dreamt of. Proud to perform at the biggest stage for my country 🇮🇳 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8U6sHOLulR
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) July 30, 2024
