Twenty-two year old Manu Bhaker created history by winning an Olympic Bronze medal in Paris today (July 28, 2024)! She is the firstIndian female shooter to ever win a medal at the Olympics, after she won the third position in the women’s 10m air pistol final which was held at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Paris, France. Read all about her here:

Manu Bhaker’s family

Manu Bhaker was born on February 18, 2002 in Goria, Jhajjar district in Haryana, India.While Haryana is known for giving rise to many boxers and wrestlers, Manu too was inclined towards sports from her school days. She played several sports like tennis, skating, and boxing, and Huyen langlon– a Manipuri martial arts form, and won national-level awards in it. However, it is shooting where Manu Bhaker finally found her true calling.
Manu’ father Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy, as per reports. It was her father who invested INR 1,50,000 in her and supported her to learn competitive shooting.
She stays with her parents– father Ram Kishan Bhaker, mother Sumedha Bhaker, and brother Akhil Bhaker.

Manu Bhaker’s journey in shooting

She has studied from Lady Shri Ram College For Women–Delhi University (LSR–DU), as per reports.
Manu first won an international level competition, bagging a silver medal at the Asian Junior Championships in 2017. In 2017 National games, which was held in Kerala, Manu also won nine gold medals.
Over the years, Manu Bhaker has won several awards and recognitions including a gold medal at Youth Olympics Games in 2018, gold at ISSF Junior World Championships in 2021, among other awards.
She was also awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award for Shooting in 2020.

Manu Bhaker at the Olympics

While Manu Bhaker created history today by winning bronze at the Paris Olympics 2024, which didn’t come easy for her.
In Tokyo Olympics 2020, Manu represented India in shooting. However, back then she couldn’t make it to the final; Tokyo Olympics 2020 was also her debut at the Olympics.
“Tokyo is one of the very sour memories of my life…I was not confident in Tokyo. I had doubts about myself, and my ability to win, I was putting pressure on myself to win– that feeling that somehow, I had to win. That became my only goal and I missed out on so much. I wasn’t enjoying myself, I had cut out everything,” Manu told The Indian Express earlier.

But now, by winning a bronze at Paris Olympics she has seeked her redemption of the past. There was a change in her attitude this time, three years later, at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Talking about it, she had told the Indian Express in an earlier interview, ahead of the finals, “You have to be brave enough to face (these situations). You can’t be mar mar ke, dar dar ke, jaise taise kar loon. Bhagwan bas bacha le. You can’t be like that, I should not beg… Now my thing is I have to enjoy it, I have to be brave and then the outcome can be the same.”
Manu Bhaker is coached by Jaspal Rana, who is surely quite proud of her today along with 1.3 billion Indians!