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]
- ^ "Good News: Manu Bhaker creates history in Paris Olympics". India Today. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "From 'Missing Indian Food' In Paris To Reading Gita To Relieve All Tension". Free Press Journal. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IE-Rana2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "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.