Manu Bhaker (born 18 February 2002) is an Indian sport shooter. She has won 2 medals at the Olympics, 19 medals at the World Shooting Championships and World Cups and 4 medals at the Asian Championships.[1] She has won the gold medal at the Commonwealth and Asian Games.[2] Bhaker secured 2 bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and became the first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Olympics.[3] She won another bronze, becoming the first Indian woman to win two medals in an Olympics.[4]
Bhaker won the gold at the 2022 Asian Games in the women's 25m pistol team event.[5] She also 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 Bhagavad Gita's guidance.[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]
Early life and education
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 district.[14]
Bhaker did her schooling at Universal Higher Senior Secondary School in Goria village, which was started by her grandfather Raj Karan.[14] During her schooling, she participated in sports such as tennis, skating, Manipuri martial-art thang-ta and boxing,[14][15] earning 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 professional training.[15] Her mother also provided guidance throughout her schooling, and introduced her to Bhagavad Gita verses such as "Do your karma and not worry about the result", 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 continued her education and went on to study Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi and graduated in 2021.[18][19] She is also pursuing a masters in Public Administration at DAV College, Chandigarh.[20] Her family currently lives in Faridabad, Haryana.[14] Her favourite foods are fruits, fresh raita aka yogurt, while for a sweet dish, she prefers Churma.[14]
Career
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]
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.[3] Next, she won another bronze medal in the mixed 10 metre air pistol team event, wherein she partnered with fellow team mate, Sarabjot Singh.[2] She became the first Indian to win two medals at an Olympics since independence of India.[1][4] Bhaker has credited her coach, Jaspal Rana for helping her win the double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[12]
International career
Olympic Games
| year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Olympic Games | 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 | Olympic Games | 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 | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | ISSF World Championships | Changwon | 10m air pistol women | 13th | Score:574 |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol women | 12th | Score:767 | |||
| 25m pistol women | 10th | Score:584 |
Youth Olympics
| year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Youth Olympic Games | Buenos Aires | 10m air pistol women | Score:576; Final:236.5 | |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol | score:751; Final:3 |
Junior World Championship
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ISSF Junior World Championships | Lima | 10m air pistol women | Score:574; Final:241.3 |
Junior World Cup
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Junior World Cup | 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 |
World Cup performance
10m air pistol event
| Year | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ISSF World Cup | New Delhi | 10m air pistol women | Score:577; Final:236.7 | |
| 2019 | ISSF World Cup | Putian | 10m air pistol women | Score:578; Final:244.7 | |
| ISSF World Cup | 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 | ISSF World Cup | 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 | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | ISSF World Cup | Guadalajara | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score:581; Final:19 |
| 2019 | ISSF World Cup | 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 | Competition | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ISSF World Cup | New Delhi | Mixed 10m air pistol | Score:384; Final:16 | |
| 2019 | ISSF World Cup Final | Putian | Mixed 10m air pistol | Score:387; Final:17 | |
| ISSF World Cup | 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 | ISSF World Cup | 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 |
References
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- ^ a b Selvaraj, Jonathan (30 July 2024). "Manu Bhaker makes history as she claims a second bronze medal with Sarabjot Singh in 10m air pistol mixed team". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Manu Bhaker wins India's 1st medal of Paris Olympics 2024, a bronze in 10m air pistol". The Indian Express. 28 July 2024. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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- ^ a b c "Manu Bhaker reveals how Bhagavad Gita helped her clinch historic Paris Olympics bronze: 'Focus on karma, not on outcome'". Hindustan Times. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
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- ^ a b "Paris Olympics: How going back to Jaspal Rana as coach revived Manu Bhaker's career". The Indian Express. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
He played a huge role in the medal, it's the sweat and blood of both of us and many more.
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22-year-old is pursuing Master of Arts in Public Administration at DAV College, Chandigarh
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Pistol coach Jaspal Rana, the man behind Manu Bhaker's historic double bronze at the Olympics