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Manu Bhaker

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Manu Bhaker
Bhaker in August 2024
Personal information
Nationality Indian
Born18 February 2002 (2002-02-18) (age 22)
Goria, Haryana, India
Education
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
SportShooting
Events
  • 10 m air pistol
  • 25 m pistol
Coached byIndia Jaspal Rana
Achievements and titles
Olympic finalsBronze x2
World finalsGold x14 Silver x3 Bronze x4
Regional finalsGold x5 Bronze x2
Commonwealth finalsGold x1
Highest world ranking2
Personal bests
  • 244.7 WJR (2019)
  • 593 AGR (2018)
Medal record
Women's shooting
Representing  India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 0 2
World Championships 1 1 0
World Cup 13 2 4
Commonwealth Games 1 0 0
Asian Games 1 0 0
Asian Championships 4 0 2
Youth Olympic Games 1 1 0
Junior World Championships 4 0 1
Junior World Cup 5 3 0
World University Games 2 0 0
Total 32 7 9
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
10 meter air pistol 26 5 6
25 meter pistol 6 2 3
Total 32 7 9
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 10 m air pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris 10 m air pistol mixed team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Baku 25 m pistol team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Cairo 25 m pistol team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Guadalajara 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2018 Guadalajara 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 New Delhi 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Beijing 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Munich 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rio 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Putian 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2019 Putian 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2021 New Delhi 10 m air pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2021 New Delhi 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2021 New Delhi 25 m pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Wroclaw 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Wroclaw 25 m pistol mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2021 New Delhi 10 m air pistol
Silver medal – second place 2021 Osijek 10 m air pistol mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 New Delhi 25 m pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Osijek 10 m air pistol team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Bhopal 25 m pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Granada 10 m air pistol
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 10 m air pistol
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou 25 m pistol team
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Doha 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2019 Doha 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Taoyuan 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2019 Taoyuan 10 m air pistol mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Changwon 25 m pistol team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Doha 10 m air pistol team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Taoyuan 10 m air pistol team
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Buenos Aires 10 m air pistol
Silver medal – second place 2018 Buenos Aires 10 m air pistol mixed team
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Lima 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2021 Lima 10 m air pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Lima 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Lima 25 m pistol team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Lima 25 m pistol
Junior World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Sydney 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2018 Sydney 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Suhl 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2022 Suhl 25 m pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Suhl 10 m air pistol team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Suhl 10 m air pistol mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Suhl 10 m air pistol
Silver medal – second place 2022 Suhl 25 m pistol
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2021 Chengdu 10 m air pistol
Gold medal – first place 2021 Chengdu 10 m air pistol team
Youth Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Wako City 10 m air pistol

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]

Early life and education

[edit]

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]

Career

[edit]

Beginnings (2016–2020)

[edit]

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)

[edit]

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]

Performance record

[edit]

Olympic Games

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2020 Japan 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 France Paris 10m air pistol women 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Qualification: 580
Final: 221.7
10m air pistol mixed team 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Qualification: 580
Final: 16–10
25m pistol women 4th Qualification: 590
Final: 28

World Championship

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2018 South Korea 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

[edit]

10m air pistol event

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2021 New Delhi 10m air pistol women 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Score: 577
Final: 236.7
2019 Putian 10m air pistol women 1st place, gold medalist(s) 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 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 772
Final: 337.5
Changwon 10m air pistol women 30th Score: 571
Munich 10m air pistol women 47th Score: 567

25m pistol event

[edit]
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

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2021 New Delhi Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 384
Final:16
2019 Putian Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 387
Final: 17
New Delhi Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 778
Final: 483.4
Beijing Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 482
Final: 16
Munich Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 591
Final: 17
2018 Guadalajara Mixed 10m air pistol 1st place, gold medalist(s) 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

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2018 Buenos Aires 10m air pistol women 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 576
Final: 236.5
Mixed team 10m air pistol 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Score: 751
Final: 3

Junior World Championship

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2021 Lima 10m air pistol women 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 574
Final: 241.3

Junior World Cup

[edit]
Year Venue Event Rank Score
2018 Sydney 10-meter air pistol women 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 570
Final: 235.9
Mixed team 10m pistol air 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 770
Final: 478.9
25m pistol women 4th Score: 574
Final: 18
Suhl 10m air pistol women 1st place, gold medalist(s) Score: 573
Final: 242.5
25m pistol women 5th Score: 579
Final: 19
Mixed team 10m air pistol 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Score: 766
Final: 474.4

Awards and nominations

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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

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Good News: Manu Bhaker creates history in Paris Olympics". India Today. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "Trailblazer Manu Bhaker first Indian to win two medals at same Olympics post-Independence". The Times of India. 30 July 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b "Who is Manu Bhaker? Meet India's 1st woman shooter to bag Olympic bronze, who also knows the Gita by heart". The Economic Times. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ^ Dutt, Tushar (6 March 2018). "Haryana shooter creates history, is youngest Indian to win World Cup gold". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Who is Manu Bhaker? Meet 16-year-old Indian shooter who created history by winning second gold in World Cup". The Financial Express. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  8. ^ Scott, Chris (8 April 2018). "16-year-old breaks Commonwealth Games record to win shooting gold for India". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ a b "From 'Missing Indian Food' In Paris To Reading Gita To Relieve All Tension". Free Press Journal. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b "What's Manu Bhaker's price for chasing the 'beautiful shot'? Coach Jaspal Rana points out a bruise on her hand that will last lifetime". The Indian Express. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "She aims to win | Manu Bhaker". India Today. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e "This bronze medal is like gold to us…': Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker's family in Haryana village". The Indian Express. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Manu Bhaker, jack of all trades but master of one, wins 10m pistol gold medal at World Cup". The Indian Express. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  16. ^ "South Korea's Oh Ye Jin sets Olympic shooting record for gold". ESPN. 28 July 2024.
  17. ^ PTI (24 December 2017). "Manu Bhaker picks up ninth gold at National Shooting Championship". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  18. ^ "When Olympics medalist Manu Bhaker, a Delhi's Lady Shri Ram College graduate, wanted to quit sports and go abroad for studies". The Economic Times. 31 July 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  19. ^ "'People think girls from LSR are...': Manu Bhaker, a Lady Shri Ram college graduate, at alma mater's award ceremony". The Economic Times. 11 October 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. ^ "In Chandigarh, Manu Bhaker says want to focus on studies for sometime". The Tribune. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024. 22-year-old is pursuing Master of Arts in Public Administration at DAV College, Chandigarh
  21. ^ PTI (24 December 2017). "Manu Bhaker picks up ninth gold at National Shooting Championship". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  22. ^ Selvaraj, Jonathan (8 April 2018). "Bindra: Manu's talented but it will get tougher for her". ESPN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Manu Bhaker, 16-year-old from Haryana, wins 2nd gold at ISSF shooting World Cup". Hindustan Times. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  24. ^ "India's gold rush continues as Manu Bhaker, Om Prakash Mitharval finish first in 10m Air Pistol mixed team final". The Indian Express. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  25. ^ "ISSF World Cup: 16-year-old Manu Bhaker wins gold in women's pistol event". 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  26. ^ "Manu Bhaker shoots gold in Women's 10m Air Pistol". The Times of India. 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Manu Bhaker wins second gold at Shooting World Cup". The Times of India. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  28. ^ "CWG 2018: On debut, teenaged Manu Bhaker shoots gold, Heena Sindhu silver". The Times of India. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  29. ^ Rajaraman, G (8 April 2018). "Commonwealth Games 2018: Superwomen Manu Bhaker, Punam Yadav, Manika Batra lead charge as India end Day 4 on a high". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  30. ^ Rao, Santosh (8 April 2018). "Commonwealth Games 2018: Manu Bhaker, 16, Shatters Games Record To Clinch Gold, Heena Sidhu Bags Silver | Commonwealth Games News". NDTV. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  31. ^ Sharma, suposh (27 February 2019). "Bhaker, Chaudhry end World Cup on a high; win 3rd Gold for India". Sports Flashes. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  32. ^ NDTVSports.com. "ISSF World Cup 2019: Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary Win Gold in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Event | Shooting News". NDTVSports.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  33. ^ "Shooting World Cup: Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary win gold for India in 10m Air Pistol mixed team event". India Today. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  34. ^ Singh, Philem Dipak (27 September 2023). "Asian Games: Indian trio bags gold in women's 25m pistol event". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  35. ^ "Manu-Bhaker-and-I-never-discussed-past-differences-says-Jaspal-Rana". Times of India. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024. Pistol coach Jaspal Rana, the man behind Manu Bhaker's historic double bronze at the Olympics
  36. ^ Lokapally, Vijay (28 March 2019). "Best sportspersons award for Bajrang Punia, Rishabh Pant, Manu Bhaker". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Winners | ISH 2019". Indian Sports Honours. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  38. ^ "India's teen shooter Manu Bhaker wins BBC's Emerging Player of the Year award". Olympics.
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