Intro: Thank you so much for sticking by me! It is for them that I am standing here strong. Every single time, I am putting so much effort. And you all made my life so easy
By Rashi Gupta
Young, talented and resilient, Manu Bhaker has made history at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by winning a bronze medal in the women’s 10 metre air pistol event. This remarkable achievement not only marks India’s first medal at these Games, it also makes her the first woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal.
To add to her glory, she and Sarabjit Singh joined hands in the 10 metre mixed team air pistol event and won another bronze for her country. Undoubtedly, this too is a fabulous win.
After her stunning performance, a happy Bhaker said, “Winning this medal is a dream come true, not just for me, but for everyone who has supported me.”
She took a moment to thank her friends, relatives and well-wishers: “Thank you so much for sticking by me! It is for them that I am standing here strong. Every single time, I am putting so much effort. And you all made my life so easy.”
Manu was born in Goria village in the Jhajjar district of Haryana. Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, is a chief engineer in Merchant Navy. Manu proved her talent in sports from a very young age. Before she turned 14, she did extraordinary well in many sports, including in Huyen Langlon (a traditional martial art from in Manipur), boxing, tennis and skating, winning medals in national competitions.
She started her journey in competitive shooting with an investment of ₹1,50,000 from her father. She achieved her first international success by winning a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. At the 2017 National Games in Kerala, she won nine gold medals and broke a record previously held by Heena Sidhu.
In 2018, she made headlines by winning a gold in the women’s 10-meter air pistol at the ISSF World Cup in Mexico, becoming the youngest Indian to win a world cup gold at just 16. She also won another gold in the mixed team event with Om Prakash Mitharval.
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she set a new record. She won gold in the women’s 10m air pistol event. Although she had set a record in the qualification round at the 2018 Asian Games, she finished 6th in the final.
Manu made history at the 2018 Youth Olympics by becoming the first Indian shooter and the first Indian female athlete to win a gold medal. In 2019, she continued her fantastic spree of success by winning gold in the mixed team event at the ISSF world cup in Delhi and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In 2019, she dominated the ISSF world cups, winning gold in the 10m air pistol mixed event multiple times. She also won a team gold at the 2022 Asian Games in the women’s 25m pistol event.
Her journey is an inspiring tale of hard work and dedication, with the single-minded pursuit for excellence. She has broken barriers and set new records. She stands as a beacon of hope for aspiring athletes across India and beyond.
She quotes a beautiful verse from the Bhagavad Gita, emphasizing the importance of equanimity and detachment in the face of life’s ups and downs. It reflects the wisdom of maintaining a balanced mindset, regardless of external circumstances.
He who has no attachment to anything anywhere, who does not rejoice and hate when good and bad things happen, his wisdom is fixed and steady.