Manu Bhaker (born 18 February 2002) is an Indiansport shooter. She has 2 medals at theOlympic Games, 22 medals at theWorld Championships andWorld Cups, as well as 10 medals at theAsian Games andAsian Championships.[2] At the2024 Olympics, she became the first Indian woman shooter to win a medal by clinching the bronze in the 10m pistol event.[3] She won another bronze in 10m pistol mixed team, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Games.[4] Bhaker is also the youngest Indian to win gold medals at theWorld Cup.[5]
She has won gold at theCommonwealth andAsian Games.[6] While she won the gold at the2022 Asian Games in the women's 25m pistol team event, Bhaker won the gold at the2018 Commonwealth Games in the 10-metre air pistol event.[7] She set a Commonwealth Games record during the same edition.[8] In 2018, a 16 year old Bhaker was the youngest Indian to win gold at theWorld Cup.[9]
Bhaker was born in Goria village ofJhajjar district inHaryana.[10] Her father Ram Kishan Bhaker is a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy.[11] Her mother, Sumedha Bhaker, is a former school principal with a master's inSanskrit, who hails from an educationist family of Kalali village inCharkhi Dadri.[11]
Bhaker did her schooling at Universal Higher Senior Secondary School in Goria, which was started by her grandfather Raj Karan.[11] During her schooling, she participated in sports such as tennis, skating,Manipuri martial-art thang-ta and boxing.[11][12] She earned several medals at the national games in these sports.[12][13] As a 14-year-old, she decided to focus on the sport ofshooting, and with an investment of ₹1,50,000 by her father, she started her training.[12]
Her mother provided guidance throughout her schooling, and introduced her to theBhagavad Gita which helped Bhaker cope during her tense times.[14][7]
At a young age of 15, Bhaker became one of the top female shooters in India, winning multiple gold medals at the 2017 National games.[15] Along with her sports, she kept her education going and went on to study Political Science atLady Shri Ram College,New Delhi, graduating in 2021.[16][17] She is pursuing a masters in Public Administration atDAV College,Chandigarh.[18]
In 2016, Bhaker started training with her first coach, Anil Jakhar and prepared for the junior world tournaments.[11] She earned her first success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. In the 2017 National games held atKerala, Bhaker won nine gold medals[19] and defeated multiple World Cup medalistHeena Sidhu and broke Sidhu's record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final.[12]
In the 2018International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held atGuadalajara, Mexico. Bhaker won the gold medal in the Women's 10-meter air pistol, defeating Mexico'sAlejandra Zavala, a two-time champion.[20] Bhaker scored 237.5 the final match against Zavalaa, who scored 237.1.[21]
Bhaker won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the 10-meter Air Pistol mixed team event. She was paired with fellow countrymanOm Prakash Mitharval. The pair shot a score of 476.1 points, defeating Sandra Reitz andChristian Reitz who scored 475.2.[22][23][24][25]
Bhaker scored 388/400 points at2018 Commonwealth Games 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.[26][27][28]
In2018 Asian Games, 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 2018, national pistol coachJaspal Rana was the mentor for Bhaker and said that “ Manu is mentally very strong" and we need to groom talented shooters like her for the2020 Olympics”.[12]
In February 2019 she won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at 2019 ISSF World Cup in Delhi.[29][30]
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.[31]
In the delayed2020 Summer Olympics, Bhaker faced multiple problems, including pistol malfunction, which led to her missing the finals for both the 10m and 25m air pistol. She partneredSaurabh Chaudhary in the mixed 10m air pistol team, but in spite of finishing the qualifying round with the highest score, she finished only eighth in the next round and missed the final. After the Tokyo Olympics, she was very disappointed but soon found motivation from theBhagavad Gita verses such as “Focus onkarma, not on the outcome of the karma.”[32]
At the2022 Asian Games, Bhaker won the team gold for India in the women's 25m pistol team event, along withEsha Singh andRhythm Sangwan.[33]
In 2023, Bhaker re-united with her coach,Jaspal Rana, to prepare for the2024 Olympics, and the reinstatement of Rana was supported byIOC president PT Usha.[34] Rana developed a rigorous training schedule for Bhaker by replicating the routine of Olympic matches in their daily schedule.[35]
At the2024 Summer Olympics inParis, Bhaker won two bronze medals. First, she won bronze in thewomen's 10 metre air pistol event, becoming the first female shooter fromIndia to win a medal at any Olympics.[3] Next, she won another bronze medal in themixed 10 metre air pistol team event, wherein she partnered with fellow team mate,Sarabjot Singh.[6] She became the first Indian to win two medals at an Olympics sinceindependence of India.[2][4] Bhaker has credited her coach,Jaspal Rana for helping her win the double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[36]
In 2025, she was awarded theKhel Ratna, India's highest sporting honour, for her consistent performance in shooting, making her the youngest Indian shooter to receive the award.[37][38]
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  Tokyo | 10m air pistol women | 12th | 575 |
| Tokyo | 25m pistol women | 15th | 582 | |
| Tokyo | 10m air pistol mixed team | 7th | Stage 1: 582 Stage 2: 380 | |
| 2024 |  Paris | 10m air pistol women | 3rd | Qualification: 580 Final: 221.7 |
| 2024 | Paris | 10m air pistol mixed team | 3rd | Qualification: 580 Final: 16–10 |
| 2024 | Paris | 25m pistol women | 4th | Qualification: 590 Final: 28 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |  Changwon | 10m air pistol women | 13th | Score: 574 |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol women | 12th | Score: 767 | ||
| 25m pistol women | 10th | Score: 584 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New Delhi | 10m air pistol women | 2nd | Score: 577 Final: 236.7 |
| 2019 | Putian | 10m air pistol women | 1st | Score: 578 Final: 244.7 |
| 2019 | Munich | 10m air pistol women | 4th | Score: 582 Final: 201.0 |
| 2019 | New Delhi | 10m air pistol women | 14th | Score: 573 |
| 2019 | Beijing | 10m air pistol women | 17th | Score: 575 |
| 2018 | Guadalajara | 10m air pistol women | 1st | Score: 772 Final: 337.5 |
| 2018 | Changwon | 10m air pistol women | 30th | Score: 571 |
| 2018 | Munich | 10m air pistol women | 47th | Score: 567 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Guadalajara | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 581 Final: 19 |
| 2019 | New Delhi | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 590 Final: 22 |
| Munich | 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 585 Final: 21 | |
| Beijing | 25m pistol women | 17th | Score: 82 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | New Delhi | Mixed 10m air pistol |  | Score: 384 Final:16 |
| 2019 | Putian | Mixed 10m air pistol | | Score: 387 Final: 17 |
| New Delhi | Mixed 10m air pistol | | Score: 778 Final: 483.4 | |
| Beijing | Mixed 10m air pistol | | Score: 482 Final: 16 | |
| Munich | Mixed 10m air pistol | | Score: 591 Final: 17 | |
| 2018 | Guadalajara | Mixed 10m air pistol | | Score: 770 Final: 476.1 |
| Changwon | Mixed 10m air pistol | 4th | Score: 778 Final: 378.6 | |
| Munich | Mixed 10m air pistol | 34th | Score: 758 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Buenos Aires | 10m air pistol women | | Score: 576 Final: 236.5 |
| Mixed team 10m air pistol |  | Score: 751 Final: 3 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Lima | 10m air pistol women | | Score: 574 Final: 241.3 |
| Year | Venue | Event | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Sydney | 10-meter air pistol women | | Score: 570 Final: 235.9 |
| Mixed team 10m pistol air | | Score: 770 Final: 478.9 | ||
| 25m pistol women | 4th | Score: 574 Final: 18 | ||
| Suhl | 10m air pistol women | | Score: 573 Final: 242.5 | |
| 25m pistol women | 5th | Score: 579 Final: 19 | ||
| Mixed team 10m air pistol | | Score: 766 Final: 474.4 |
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Delhi Sports Journalists Awards | Best Sportsperson of the Year | Won | [39] |
| Indian Sports Honours | Emerging Sportswoman of the Year | Won | [40] | |
| Women's Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | Arjuna Award | Outstanding Performance in Sports | Won | |
| 2021 | BBC Awards | Sportswoman of the Year | Nominated | |
| Emerging Sportswoman of the Year | Won | [41] | ||
| 2024 | BBC Awards | Sportswoman of the Year | Nominated | |
| Indian Sports Honours | Sportswoman of the Year | Won | ||
| 2025 | Khel Ratna Award | Spectacular Performance in Sports | Won | [42] |
| Sportstar Awards | Sportstar of the Year Female | Won | [43] | |
| Sportswoman of the Year | Won | |||
| BBC Awards | Sportswoman of the Year | Won | [44] | |
| Times of India Sports Awards | Sportsperson of the Year Female | Won | [45] | |
| Shooter of the Year Female | Won | [46] | ||
| Bhogeswar Baruah National Sports Awards | Sportsperson of the Year | Won | [47] |
22-year-old is pursuing Master of Arts in Public Administration at DAV College, Chandigarh
Pistol coach Jaspal Rana, the man behind Manu Bhaker's historic double bronze at the Olympics
He played a huge role in the medal, it's the sweat and blood of both of us and many more.
Gold medalists |
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|---|---|
Silver medalists | |
Bronze medalists | |
