Manu Bhaker won the first medal for Bharat in the Paris Olympics. She has won the bronze medal in women’s 10-meter air pistol shooting, ending India’s 12-year medal drought in Olympic shooting. This is also Bharat’s first medal, and we hope more medals in the Paris Olympics. Moreover, she becomes the 1st woman to win a medal in shooting for India.
Manu Bhaker had qualified for the final in this event on 27 July. On Sunday, she scored 221.7 points in the final match. The gold and silver medals of this event went to Korea. Korean player Oh Ye Jin won the gold medal with 243.2 points. Korea’s second player Kim Yeji managed to win the silver medal with 241.3 points.
At the age of 19, Manu Bhaker participated in the Tokyo Olympics. Although she remained empty-handed there. Moreover, India’s overall performance in shooting in the Tokyo Olympics was also poor. But she made a brilliant comeback in the Paris Olympics and won the bronze medal. This is also India’s first medal in women’s shooting. Manu Bhaker is also the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires 2018. She has also previously won the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games titles.
Manu Bhaker missed the silver medal.
Manu Bhaker had once secured the second position by defeating Korea’s Kim Yeji. Manu’s last shot hit the target of 10.3, while Korea’s Kim Yeji targeted 10.5 and went ahead of Manu. Kim got two more shots to decide the gold, but she could not defeat her compatriot Oh Ye Jin and won the silver.
Manu Bhaker Biography
Even as a teenager, Manu Bhaker quickly rose through the ranks to become India’s latest shooting star.
Manu Bhaker was born in Jhajjar, Haryana, a state known for its boxers and wrestlers. She was involved in various sports like tennis, skating, and boxing during her school days. Additionally, she excelled in a form of martial arts called ‘thang ta’ and won medals at the national level.
At the age of 14, right after the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Olympics, she impulsively ventured into the world of shooting and found love for the sport. Notably, within a week of her newfound passion, Manu asked her father to acquire a sports shooting pistol for her to further develop her skills.
Her ever-supportive father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, bought her a gun. This decision made Manu Bhaker an Olympian.
At the 2017 national shooting championships, Manu stunned Olympian and former world No. 1 Heena Sidhu by shooting a record score of 242.3 to erase Sidhu’s mark and win the 10m Air Pistol final.
She then added a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships and the following year, Manu announced her arrival on a big stage in style.
Active on Social Media
Manu is also very active on social media sites. Manu Bhaker’s Instagram account is followed by 390K followers. Furthermore, She has 185.4 K followers on X.
