Manu Bhaker – Indian Professional Shooter

Manu Bhaker is one of the most prominent examples of a complex sports redemption arc there exists. From enduring a heartbreak at the Tokyo Games to bagging two medals in the Paris Olympics, Bhaker has had quite the turnaround.

She hails from the village of Goria in the Jhajjar district of Haryana and has come quite far. She was first introduced to a number of sports in her childhood ranging from Huyen Langlon, a manipuri martial art, tennis, and skating and represented at the national level.

She was born on the 18th February, 2002.

Having witnessed the remarkable success that Manu Bhaker has had at the Olympics, it is safe to say that she is an incredible shooter. This was the first time that an Indian female athlete had won the two medals at one Olympics. Thanks to her accomplishments, there has been a wide increase in interest among the younger Indian generation for shooting. It is her great skills combined by unmatched willpower that helps her achieve her goals.

After Manu tagged along her father to the shooting range, she developed a keen interest in the sport, she was amazed with the energy and the focus which was required so she decided to pursue it. Fully supporting her passion was her father, who poured in Rs 1,50,000 for her training. Her training regime was under a shooting coach and Arjuna Award recipient Jaspal Rana.

She won nine gold medals and broke the national record of many, including Heena Sidhu, a World Cup medalist. As a result of her outstanding performance, her government granted her a quota for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She reached this international apex for the first time during the Asian Junior Championships held in 2017 which was her first international tournament.

Her mother, Sumedha Bhaker, and Mr. Ram Kishan, her father, are both out of rural nowhere; in fact, Manu is from Goria village in the Jhajjar district of Haryana, India. When Manu was quite young, she became very much interested in sports. Manu established herself in many sports activities like Huyen langlon, tennis, boxing, and even skating, where she went on to win numerous national championships.

He also had the opportunity to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018

She relit the fire, as she called it, after what was an absolute dull performance at Tokyo in the 2020 Olympics when Manu reached out to her ex trainer Jaspal Rana. Surprisingly she melted this disappointment. Next thing both of them, as they say, kissed and made up and there they were training together again. Bhaker’s winning streak began once more as she went on to bag a bronze medal at the games in Paris.

But that was not the end of her accolades. She was also successful in her participation in the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. In the 10 meter air pistol shooting women event, she set a new Games record of 240.9 points beating other contestants including Indian shooter Heena Sidhu.

For Bhaker, the victory turned out to be of special value as it was recorded only four days after losing an Olympic final due to one of her pistols affecting it. Later, she tweeted and congratulated her sports minister Kiren Rijiju through her tweet.

February 18 of the year 2002 marked the birth of Bhaker in Jhajjar district in the Indian state Haryana. Childhood for Bhaker was never devoid of sports. While at school she engaged in tennis, skating, boxing and a martial art called thang ta. Thereafter, she took up shooting and was able to gain national titles. Furthermore, her parents were supportive of her dreams and ambitions. They even quit their respective jobs in the merchant navy to concentrate on Bhaker’s shooting career.

Won a bronze medal at the 2018 Summer Olympics

Manu Bhaker is a shooter from Goria village in the Indian state of Haryana. She started sports at an early age in martial arts at age fourteen. However, having tried boxing, tennis, and skating, she settled into shooting. Her father was there in her quest and bought her training and equipment. Gradually, she started scaling the national heights.

Manu has won a number of medals in international events. She earned her first Olympic medal in 2024 at the Summer Olympics when she competed in the 10m air pistol event, putting an end to a twelve-year dry phase for the country. After a shaky start to the final, she knew she had to bring her A game on to the table, and a performance of this caliber would allow her to take home bronze. Her achievement has inspired a generation of Indian shooters as well as promoted the growth of the sport and increased investment.

Manu epitomizes what an athlete should be since they have shown that dedication and hard work can take you where you want to reach. Her victory in Paris also underscored the need of putting women’s advancement in sports on the forefront. In regard to this, she indicated that after her victory the Prime Minister called in to express his gratuity. She also has been commended by various sports stars including the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. This athlete, born in Jhajjar, is an ardent disciple of Bhagavad Gita. Whenever she is facing hardships, she takes out the Gita and looks out for the verses to help her.

Won a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup

After winning the 10m air pistol women’s individual final at the ISSF World Cup held in Paris, Manu Bhaker became the first ever Indian woman shooter to clinch a gold medal. The Haryana shooter who is an Olympian bronze medalist as well as a gold medalist in other competitions managed to beat Dubravka Arunovic of Serbia by a good margin.

The shooter, who comes from a state famous thanks to its wrestlers and boxers, engaged in various sporting activities but only turned to shooting at the age of 14. She watched the 2016 Rio Olympics and was electrified to give the sport a go. She requested her father to buy her a pistol and there she was on the verge of becoming the new shooting whirlpool sensation from India, an ardent wish of her.

At the 2017 National Games, Heena Sidhu, an Olympic medalist, was left opened-mouthed as she walked away with a record nine gold medals and also a record score in the 10m air pistol final. The next year saw her winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in the same event before winning other international medals on her way to stardom.

In 2024 Olympics, Manu together with Sarabjot Singh and Rhythm Sangwan won the bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. She also participated in the men’s 10m air rifle and the team rounded up the gold medal after beating Belarus.