How Her Father’s Support Shaped Manu Bhaker’s Life

Manu Bhaker’s phenomenal performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics has stunned the whole country, especially because she has already bagged 2 medals - one in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event and another in the air pistol mixed team event where she partnered with Sarabjot Singh. Manu also qualified for the finals of the 25m pistol event but missed out on the hat-trick. She finished 4th in the event. The 22-year-old has created history by becoming the 1st ever female from India to bag an Olympic medal in shooting but, it was all possible because her father believed in her and offered relentless support throughout. Read to know more

Manu Bhaker’s childhood 

Born on 18th February 2002, in Goria Village of District Jhajjar, Haryana, Manu displayed a keen interest in sports from an early age. She was very versatile and excelled in not just one but many different sports like tennis, skating, boxing, and even Huiyen Langlon, a traditional martial art technique of Manipur and even won medals at the national level. Despite her diverse sporting talents, Manu found her ultimate passion in shooting. 

Manu Bhaker’s father

Manu Bhaker’s father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, a Merchant Navy civil engineer, supported her in every possible way and invested almost 1.5 lacs for her training and equipment. In an interview with Rev Sports, he shared, “The whole country is happy and I’m happy as well. It seems like a lot of good things are happening and will continue to happen. I’m still trying to process it.”

When asked about the role of the family in her success, he explained, “Just like every other parent we want the best for our kids. But sometimes, you have to say yes without giving it a second thought. Whether she wanted to go for karate or boxing, or even shooting, I used to support her because it meant a lot to her.”

Start Of Manu Bhaker’s Career 

The 2017 National Games in Kerala served as a launchpad for Manu Bhaker's career in shooting. She bagged 9 gold medals and even set a world record by securing 242.3 points, outshining the previous record that was held by World Cup medalist Heena Sidhu. From then onwards, people started seeing her as the future of Indian shooting. 

In 2018, at the young age of 16 years, Manu bagged Gold in the Women’s 10-meter air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, after defeating two-time champion Alejandra Zavala, becoming the youngest Indian to clinch gold at the World Cup. 

Manu Bhaker’s Achievements

In the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, Manu scored 388/400 in the 10-meter air pistol qualifying event. She even set a new record by securing 240.9 points in the finals and took home gold. This achievement made her the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Commonwealth Games. 

In the same year, Manu secured 236.5 points at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She topped the table in the 10-meter air pistol event, becoming the first shooter from India to bag a gold in the Youth Olympics.

Manu was able to dominate the 10-meter air pistol team events at the ISSF World Cups, in which she paired with Saurabh Chaudhry and secured not one but multiple gold medals. 

Despite tasting success countless times, Manu’s journey has not always been a bed of roses. She tasted failure too, but her persistence and determination helped her overcome the hurdles and focus on what really matters- improving. Today, she is representing India in the Paris Olympics and has already added one more achievement to her list of creating histories.