Who Is Manu Bhaker? Haryana Shooter Becomes First Indian Woman To Win Olympic Medal In Shooting

Manu Bhaker has become the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting by winning bronze in the Women's 10m Air Pistol final at 2024 Paris Olympics.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 22-year-old Manu Bhaker is the only athlete from the 21-member Indian shooting team competing in multiple events.

Source : PTI

Manu Bhaker at Paris Olympics 2024: India's Manu Bhaker scripted history on Sunday (July 28) at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 in France. The Haryana shooter secured India's first medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics by winning bronze in the Women's 10m Air Pistol final at the Châteauroux Shooting Center. She has become the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting.

India had a disappointing start to their campaign in shooting at Paris 2024 Olympics. Both Indian teams in the 10m air rifle mixed team event—Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh, and Arjun Babuta and Ramita Jindal—failed to qualify for medal matches. The disappointment continued as Arabjot Singh and Arjun Cheema also did not make it to the final round of men's 10m air pistol competition.

However, ace shooter Manu Bhaker kept India's medal hopes alive by finishing third in the qualification round of the women's 10m air pistol event, securing a spot in the finals and finally culminating her performance with a historic bronze medal in the 10m air pistol at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Bhaker's journey to this historic achievement has been challenging...

This is Manu Bhaker's second Olympics. She made her Olympics debut at Tokyo in 2020, where her pistol malfunctioned during the 10m air pistol qualification round, preventing her from winning a medal. However, this time, Manu overcame past misfortunes to secure a historic bronze medal.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 22-year-old Manu Bhaker is the only athlete from the 21-member Indian shooting team competing in multiple events. She is participating in the women's 10m air pistol, 10m air pistol mixed team, and women's 25m pistol events.

Born in Jhajjar, Haryana, Manu Bhaker engaged in various sports during her school days, including tennis, skating, and boxing. She also practiced a martial art called 'Than Ta,' earning medals at the national level. An eye injury during boxing ended her boxing career, but her passion for sports led her to excel as a shooter.

Manu Bhaker secured India's quota for Paris 2024 Olympics by finishing fifth in the women's 25m pistol event at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships. She is the youngest Indian to win a gold medal in the ISSF World Cup and also the Commonwealth Games champion in the women's 10m air pistol event at Gold Coast 2018, where she set a CWG record with her top medal win.

Bhaker is the first Indian shooter and the first female athlete from India to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympics, achieving this in Buenos Aires 2018. Also, she won the women's 25 meter team pistol title at the Asian Games the previous year.