Manu Bhaker is an Indian Olympian who competes at

airgun An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chemica ...

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 missiles can ...

. She represented India at the 2018

ISSF World Cup The ISSF World Cup was introduced by the International Shooting Sport Federation in 1986 to provide a homogeneous system for qualification to the Olympic shooting competitions. It still is carried out in the Olympic shooting events, with four comp ...

and won two gold medals. She is the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup. She won the gold medal in women's 10 m air pistol event at

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

just at the age of 16 in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance.

Early life

She is from Goria village in the Haryana district of Jhajjar. Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy. Until the age of 14 Bhaker excelled in other sports like

Huyen langlon Huyen langlon is an Indian martial art from Manipur. In the Meitei language, means war while or can mean net, knowledge or art. consists of two main components: thang-ta (armed combat) and sarit sarak (unarmed fighting). The primary weapons ...

, a

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

i martial art, as well as boxing, tennis and skating, winning medals at the national games in these events.

Career

With an investment of ₹150000 by her father, Bhaker decided to take up competitive shooting. She first tasted 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 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, 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 the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun (clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic shooting sport events. ISSF's activities include regula ...

World Cup held at

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaja ...

. 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. By winning the gold medal at age 16, Bhaker became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the World Cup. Bhaker won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the 10-meter Air Pistol mixed team event. She was paired with fellow countrymen 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 Ju ...

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 ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

, 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 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.

International career

Olympic Games

World Championship

Youth Olympics

Junior World Championship

Junior World Cup

World Cup

10m air pistol Event

25m Pistol Event

Mixed Team Event

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhaker, Manu 2002 births Living people People from Jhajjar Indian female sport shooters Sport shooters from Haryana Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in shooting Shooters at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2018 Asian Games Shooters at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Asian Games competitors for India Youth Olympic gold medalists for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Shooters at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic shooters of India Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games