Manu Bhaker: India’s Shooting Prodigy Who Rose Up on the Biggest Sporting Occasion and Claimed Glory

The streets won’t forget the name of Manu Bhaker anytime soon. Even though she narrowly missed her mark to claim a third medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, Bhaker’s talent and achievement in the biggest sporting carnival of the world. The 22-year-old bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol and then partnered with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed 10m air pistol event to win another bronze. She has now joined the likes of P.V. Sindhu and Sushil Kumar to become the only Indians to have two Olympic medals. 

On Saturday, the young Indian prodigy missed what could’ve been another bronze to her name in the 25m pistol final. She was placed fourth after she lost in a tie-shoot for the bronze medal to Hungarian Veronika Major at the Chatearoux Shooting Centre. Finishing with 28 points after a total of 8 series, Manu Bhaker contested against her Hungarian counterpart who ultimately shot four out of her five shots in the elimination round as compared to the Indian markswoman who could only shoot three. 

At the conclusion of the hard-fought finale, Bhaker admitted to being nervous during the game and seemed dissatisfied with her performance. 

“I got like really nervous about it, but again, I was trying my best to keep calm and to just try to do my best,” the star shooter was quoted as saying after the event to the PTI. “I’m glad that I got two medals, but right now, I’m not very… well, fourth place is not a very good place,” she said while declining to have any pressure to win a third medal at The Games. 

A Bright Future Awaits for Manu Bhaker

Nevertheless, Manu Bhaker scripted history as she became the only Indian to win two Olympic medals in a single edition. The performance of India’s pistol pro in Paris is more remarkable altogether after what she had endured in the Tokyo Olympics. Bhaker said that the difference between her two stints in Tokyo and Paris has been her confidence and experience. “In Tokyo, I was not confident at all and I was kind of scared with everything. But this time, I feel much more confident and much more mature in terms of experience”, she said. 

Given the fact that she’s just 22 years old now and already a double-medal winner for India, upcoming opportunities will give Manu Bhaker a lot of scope to improve and chances to finish first on the podium. She said that she has a lot of motivation now and she will work hard to do better in the Los Angeles Games 2028. 

India has won three medals hitherto in the Paris Olympics 2024 and all of those have come from shooting, a sport in which India drew blanks in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Shooter Swapnil Kusale has also won a bronze medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions final.