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Manu Bhaker is an Indian professional shooter, who rose to glory after representing India at the 2018 ISSF World Cup. She became the youngest Indian to win two gold medals in a World Cup and set a new Commonwealth Games record at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Let’s get into details about this young achiever’s personal and professional life.
Biography/Wiki
Manu Bhaker was born on 18 February 2002 (age 21 years; as of 2023), in Goria a village in Jhajjar, Haryana. She studied at Universal Public Senior Secondary School, situated in the same town.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 4”
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family, Caste & Boyfriend
Born into a Jat Family, Manu Bhaker’s father, Ram Kishan Bhaker is a Chief Engineer in Merchant Navy and mother, Sumedha is a School Teacher. She has one brother, Akhil.
Manu Bhaker with her Father, Mother, and Brother.
Career
Before starting her career as a Professional Shooter, Manu Bhaker joined Virender Sehwag’s coaching school in Jhajjar and also used to do Boxing and Kick-boxing. She quit boxing due to her eye injury while playing volleyball, during a warm-up session.
From Tha-thang to Judo, she enrolled herself in various other sports, but it did not interest her, and she quit soon enough.
Eventually, she visited her school’s shooting range and casually took a pistol and straightaway shot 7.5. Since her first tryst with a pistol, Manu Bhaker has been raved about as India’s next big shooting sensation.
Her mentor is Jaspal Rana, who inspired her to take shooting seriously.
Manu Bhaker with her coach Jaspal Rana.
Medals
Gold
- In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Guadalajara ISSF World Cup
- In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2018 Guadalajara ISSF World Cup
- In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games
- In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Goldcoast Commonwealth games
- In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 New Delhi ISSF World Cup
- In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Beijing ISSF World Cup
- In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Munich ISSF World Cup
- In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Rio de Janeiro ISSF World Cup
- In 10m air pistol at the 2019 Doha Asian Shooting Championships
- In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Doha Asian Shooting Championships
- In 10m air pistol at the 2019 Putian China ISSF World Cup
- In the Women’s 25m Air Pistol Team event at the 2023 Asian Games, held in Hangzhou, China
Manu Bhaker (right) with her team after winning the gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games
Silver
- In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games
Bronze
- In the women’s 25m pistol at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol competition in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Favourites
Manu Bhaker’s favourite Shooters include her coach Jaspal Rana and Heena Sidhu.
She likes to eat Namkeen Rice, Gajjar Ka Raita and Choorma.
Controversies
- After becoming the first Indian shooter to win a gold at Youth Olympics, Haryana Sports Minister, Anil Vij had tweeted that Haryana Government will give a cash prize of Rs. 2 crore to Manu Bhaker. The pistol shooter is now in the news for posting a screenshot of Vij’s tweet in which he has promised her the cash prize and has asked if it was really a promise or just some phrases. It initiated a controversy and left the Sports Minister in fumes.
Manu Bhaker’s tweet questioning Anil Vij.
- After her unsuccessful exit from the 202o Tokyo Olympics, a rift between Manu Bhaker and Jaspal Rana surfaced in the media when Bhaker alleged that Rana didn’t treat her well while she was preparing for the Olympics.
Facts
- Manu Bhaker was born to a Merchant Navy Chief Engineer, in Goria, a small village in Jhajjar, Haryana.
- Manu Bhaker’s parents consider her a very adventurous and courageous girl.
- Her hobbies include needlework, bungee-jumping and ice-skating.
- Before choosing Shooting as a career, Manu Bhaker had switched to various other sports- from Judo, Kick-boxing, Tha-thang to Cricket.
- Manu’s father still doubts if she would continue her career in shooting in future or not.
- At the 2017 National Games, held in Kerela, she won 9 gold medals and defeated Heena Sidhu, while breaking Heena Sidhu’s record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3.
- At the 2018 International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Manu Bhaker defeated Mexico’s Alejandra Zavala (a two-time champion) and won the gold medal in the Women’s 10-meter air pistol. She also became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the World Cup.
- Manu Bhaker set a new Commonwealth Games Record of 240.9 points at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
- In January 2019, she got involved in a war of words with Anil Vij, Haryana’s Sports Minister on Twitter; regarding his promise of giving her a cash prize of Rs. 2 crore on behalf of Haryana Government.
- She broke the junior world record with her score 244.7 to win a gold medal in 10m air pistol at the 2019 Putian China ISSF World Cup.
- On 4 December 2021, she clinched the crown of the women’s 10m air pistol champion for the second successive at the 64th National Shooting Championship.
- Manu Bhaker participated in the 2023 Asian Games, where she clinched the gold medal in the women’s 25m air pistol team event; however, in the women’s individual 25m air pistol competition, she secured the 5th position with 21 points.