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Manu Bhaker (born 18 February 2002) is an Indian sport shooter. She has won 2 medals at the Olympic Games, 7 medals at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, and 21 medals at the World Championships and World Cups.[1] She gained wide recognition after her performance at the 2024 Olympics where she became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympics medal by winning a bronze in the 10m pistol event.[2] She won another bronze in the 10m pistol mixed team event, thus becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Games.[3]
She has won gold medals at both the Commonwealth and Asian Games.[4] Bhaker won the gold at the 2022 Asian Games in the women's 25m pistol team event.[5] She won the gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the women's 10-metre air pistol event, where she set a new Commonwealth Games record.[6] At the age of 16, Bhaker became the youngest Indian to win a gold at the World Cup in 2018.[7][8]
Bhaker went through a difficult phase after her pistol malfunction at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which left her demoralised.[9] She found support with her family and motivation from the Bhagavad Gita.[9][10] Her career took an upswing in 2023 after she reunited with her longtime coach, Jaspal Rana, who developed a rigorous training schedule for the 2024 Olympics.[11][12]
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Bhaker was born in Goria village of Jhajjar district in Haryana.[13] Her father Ram Kishan Bhaker is a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy.[14] Her mother, Sumedha Bhaker, is a former school principal and master's in Sanskrit, who hails from an educationist family of Kalali village in Charkhi Dadri.[14]
Bhaker did her schooling at Universal Higher Senior Secondary School in Goria, which was started by her grandfather Raj Karan.[14] During her schooling, she participated in various sports such as tennis, skating, Manipuri martial-art thang-ta and boxing.[14][15] She earned several medals at the national games in these sports.[15][16] As a 14-year-old, she decided to focus on the sport of shooting, and with an investment of ₹1,50,000 by her father, she started her training.[15]
Her mother provided guidance throughout her schooling, and introduced her to the Bhagavad Gita which helped Bhaker cope during her tense times.[10][5]
At a young age of 15, Bhaker became one of the top female shooters in India, winning multiple gold medals at the 2017 National games.[17] Along with her sports, she kept her education going and went on to study Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, graduating in 2021.[18][19] She is pursuing a masters in Public Administration at DAV College, Chandigarh.[20]
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Beginnings (2016–2020)
In 2016, Bhaker started training with her first coach, Anil Jakhar and prepared for the junior world tournaments.[14] She earned her first success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. In the 2017 National games held at Kerala, Bhaker won nine gold medals[21] and defeated multiple World Cup medalist Heena Sidhu and broke Sidhu's record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final.[15]
In the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held at Guadalajara, Mexico. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women's 10-meter air pistol, defeating Mexico's Alejandra Zavala, a two-time champion.[22] Bhaker scored 237.5 the final match against Zavalaa, who scored 237.1.[23]
Bhaker won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the 10-meter Air Pistol mixed team event. She was paired with fellow countryman Om Prakash Mitharval. The pair shot a score of 476.1 points, defeating Sandra Reitz and Christian Reitz who scored 475.2.[24][25][26][27]
Bhaker scored 388/400 points at 2018 Commonwealth Games in women's 10m air pistol qualifying round and qualified for the finals. In the final round of the women's 10m air pistol event during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she secured the gold medal with setting a new Commonwealth Games record of 240.9 points.[28][29][30]
In 2018 Asian Games, she scored a game's record score of 593 in the qualification round of 25m Air pistol event. But she failed to win a medal there, as she finished 6th in the final. Eventually, her compatriot Rahi Sarnobat clinched the Gold in this event.
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. The Indian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympics is also the World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medalist. The 16-year-old Manu became the first shooter from India and the first female athlete from India to grab a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games.
In 2018, national pistol coach Jaspal Rana was the mentor for Bhaker and said that “ Manu is mentally very strong" and we need to groom talented shooters like her for the 2020 Olympics”.[15]
In February 2019 she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at 2019 ISSF World Cup in Delhi.[31][32]
In May 2019 she qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 10m pistol event via a fourth place finish at the Munich ISSF World Cup. This came days after 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.
In all the four Pistol & Rifle ISSF World Cups in 2019, she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed event with Saurabh Chaudhry as her partner, making the pair a strong contender for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[33]
Rising star (2021–2024)
In the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, Bhaker faced multiple problems, including pistol malfunction, which led to her missing the finals for both the 10m and 25m air pistol. She partnered Saurabh Chaudhary in the mixed 10m air pistol team, but in spite of finishing the qualifying round with the highest score, she finished only eighth in the next round and missed the final. After the Tokyo Olympics, she was very disappointed but soon found motivation from the Bhagavad Gita verses such as “Focus on karma, not on the outcome of the karma.” [9]
At the 2022 Asian Games, Bhaker won the team gold for India in the women's 25m pistol team event, along with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan.[34]
In 2023, Bhaker re-united with her coach, Jaspal Rana, to prepare for the 2024 Olympics, and the reinstatement of Rana was supported by IOC president PT Usha.[11] Rana developed a rigorous training schedule for Bhaker by replicating the routine of Olympic matches in their daily schedule.[35]
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Bhaker won two bronze medals. First, she won bronze in the women's 10 metre air pistol event, becoming the first female shooter from India to win a medal at any Olympics.[2] Next, she won another bronze medal in the mixed 10 metre air pistol team event, wherein she partnered with fellow team mate, Sarabjot Singh.[4] She became the first Indian to win two medals at an Olympics since independence of India.[1][3] Bhaker has credited her coach, Jaspal Rana for helping her win the double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[12]
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Olympic Games
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  Tokyo |
10m air pistol women | 12th | 575 |
| 25m pistol women | 15th | 582 | ||
| 10m air pistol mixed team | 7th | Stage 1: 582 Stage 2: 380 | ||
| 2024 |  Paris |
10m air pistol women |  |
Qualification: 580 Final: 221.7 |
| 10m air pistol mixed team | |
Qualification: 580 Final: 16–10 | ||
| 25m pistol women | 4th | Qualification: 590 Final: 28 | ||
World Championship
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |  Changwon |
10m air pistol women | 13th | Score: 574 |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol women | 12th | Score: 767 | ||
| 25m pistol women | 10th | Score: 584 |
World Cup
10m air pistol event
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New Delhi | 10m air pistol women |  |
Score: 577 Final: 236.7 |
| 2019 | Putian | 10m air pistol women |  |
Score: 578 Final: 244.7 |
| Munich | 10m air pistol women | 4th | Score: 582 Final: 201.0 | |
| New Delhi | 10m air pistol women | 14th | Score: 573 | |
| Beijing | 10m air pistol women | 17th | Score: 575 | |
| 2018 | Guadalajara | 10m air pistol women | |
Score: 772 Final: 337.5 |
| Changwon | 10m air pistol women | 30th | Score: 571 | |
| Munich | 10m air pistol women | 47th | Score: 567 |
25m pistol event
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Guadalajara | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 581 Final: 19 |
| 2019 | New Delhi | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 590 Final: 22 |
| Munich | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 585 Final: 21 | |
| Beijing | 25m pistol women | 17th | Score: 82 |
Mixed team event
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New Delhi | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 384 Final:16 |
| 2019 | Putian | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 387 Final: 17 |
| New Delhi | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 778 Final: 483.4 | |
| Beijing | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 482 Final: 16 | |
| Munich | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 591 Final: 17 | |
| 2018 | Guadalajara | Mixed 10m air pistol | |
Score: 770 Final: 476.1 |
| Changwon | Mixed 10m air pistol | 4th | Score: 778 Final: 378.6 | |
| Munich | Mixed 10m air pistol | 34th | Score: 758 |
Youth Olympics
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Buenos Aires | 10m air pistol women | |
Score: 576 Final: 236.5 |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol | |
Score: 751 Final: 3 |
Junior World Championship
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Lima | 10m air pistol women | |
Score: 574 Final: 241.3 |
Junior World Cup
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Sydney | 10-meter air pistol women | |
Score: 570 Final: 235.9 |
| Mixed team 10m pistol air | |
Score: 770 Final: 478.9 | ||
| 25m pistol women | 4th | Score: 574 Final: 18 | ||
| Suhl | 10m air pistol women | |
Score: 573 Final: 242.5 | |
| 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 579 Final: 19 | ||
| Mixed team 10m air pistol | |
Score: 766 Final: 474.4 |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Delhi Sports Journalists Awards | Best Sportsperson of the Year | Won | [36] |
| Indian Sports Honours | Emerging Sportswoman of the Year | Won | [37] | |
| Women's Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | Arjuna Award | Outstanding Performance in Sports | Won | |
| 2021 | BBC Awards | Sportswoman of the Year | Nominated | |
| Emerging Sportswoman of the Year | Won | [38] | ||
| 2024 | Indian Sports Honours | Sportswoman of the Year | Won |
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