Manu Bhaker (born 18 February 2002) is an Indian

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

. She has won 2 medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, 7 medals at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

and Asian Championships, and 22 medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. At the

2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, she became the first Indian woman shooter to win a medal by clinching the bronze in the 10m pistol event. She won another bronze in 10m pistol mixed team, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Games. Bhaker is also the youngest Indian to win gold medals at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. She has won gold at the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

. While she won the gold at the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

in the women's 25m pistol team event, Bhaker won the gold at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

in the 10-metre air pistol event. She set a Commonwealth Games record during the same edition. In 2018, a 16 year old Bhaker was the youngest Indian to win gold at the

Early life

Bhaker was born in Goria village of

Jhajjar district Jhajjar district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. Carved out of Rohtak district on 15 July 1997 and with its headquarters in Jhajjar, it lies from Delhi and had developed into an important industrial center. Oth ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. Her father Ram Kishan Bhaker is a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy. Her mother, Sumedha Bhaker, is a former school principal with a master's in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, who hails from an educationist family of Kalali village in

Charkhi Dadri Charkhi Dadri is a city and the headquarters of Charkhi Dadri district in the Indian state of Haryana, about 90 km from the national capital Delhi. The town was made by joining the villages of Charkhi and Dadri after urban development. Ch ...

. Bhaker did her schooling at Universal Higher Senior Secondary School in Goria, which was started by her grandfather Raj Karan. During her schooling, she participated in sports such as tennis, skating, Manipuri martial-art thang-ta and boxing. She earned several medals at the national games in these sports. As a 14-year-old, she decided to focus on the sport of

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

, and with an investment of ₹1,50,000 by her father, she started her training. Her mother provided guidance throughout her schooling, and introduced her to the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

which helped Bhaker cope during her tense times. 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. Along with her sports, she kept her education going and went on to study Political Science at

Lady Shri Ram College Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi. History Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife Phoolan Devi (Lady Shri Ram), the college bega ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, graduating in 2021. She is pursuing a masters in Public Administration at DAV College,

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

Career

Beginnings (2016–2020)

In 2016, Bhaker started training with her first coach, Anil Jakhar and prepared for the junior world tournaments. 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 Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, Bhaker won nine gold medals and defeated multiple World Cup medalist Heena Sidhu and broke Sidhu's record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final. In the 2018

International Shooting Sport Federation The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several ISSF shooting events, non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities ...

World Cup held at

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women's 10-meter air pistol, defeating Mexico's Alejandra Zavala, a two-time champion. Bhaker scored 237.5 the final match against Zavalaa, who scored 237.1. 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 Christian Reitz (born 29 April 1987) is a German 25 metre rapid fire pistol shooter, the current world record holder. Career He rose to fame during 2005, the first year with the new equipment rules, but was defeated in that year's European J ...

who scored 475.2. Bhaker scored 388/400 points at

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. In

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

, 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 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

”. In February 2019 she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at 2019 ISSF World Cup in Delhi. 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.

Rising star (2021–2024)

In the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, 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

verses such as “Focus on

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

, not on the outcome of the karma.” At the

, Bhaker won the team gold for India in the women's 25m pistol team event, along with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan. In 2023, Bhaker re-united with her coach, Jaspal Rana, to prepare for the

, and the reinstatement of Rana was supported by

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

president PT Usha. Rana developed a rigorous training schedule for Bhaker by replicating the routine of Olympic matches in their daily schedule. At the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to win a medal at any Olympics. Next, she won another bronze medal in the mixed 10 metre air pistol team event, wherein she partnered with fellow team mate, Sarabjot Singh. She became the first Indian to win two medals at an Olympics since

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of India. Bhaker has credited her coach, Jaspal Rana for helping her win the double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In 2025, she was awarded the Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour, for her consistent performance in shooting, making her the youngest Indian shooter to receive the award.

Performance record

Olympic Games

World Championship

World Cup

Youth Olympics

Junior World Championship

Junior World Cup

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Manu Bhaker
at the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhaker, Manu 2002 births Living people People from Jhajjar Indian female sport shooters Sport shooters from Haryana Sportswomen from Haryana Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games gold medallists in shooting Shooters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2018 Asian Games Shooters at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic gold medalists for India Shooters at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in shooting Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games shooters for India Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Shooters at the 2020 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic shooters for India Olympic bronze medalists for India Olympic medalists in shooting Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2021 Summer Universiade FISU World University Games gold medalists for India Summer World University Games medalists in shooting ISSF pistol shooters 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Lady Shri Ram College alumni Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award