Paris Olympics 2024 | Who is Manu Bhaker? First Indian woman to win two Olympic medals in a single edition
Paris Olympics 2024: The Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024 celebrated another momentous achievement as Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh clinched the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. This victory added to India's growing medal tally and etched Manu Bhaker's name in the history books as the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the same Olympics.
Showcasing her prowess in individual and team events, Bhaker's dual-medal performance cements her status as a trailblazer in Indian sports.
Manu Bhaker, the sports shooter from Haryana, is well-known for her pistol shooting achievements. Born on February 18, 2002, she has made a great contribution to international shooting sports, particularly in the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events.
Manu, however, took up shooting after trying out for sports like tennis, skating, and boxing at school. Manu was passionate about sports, and she excelled in the form of martial arts known as 'thang ta', winning national medals.
Manu decided to try her hand at shooting when she was 14, shortly after the 2016 Rio Olympics ended. After trying several sports, Bhaker fell in love with shooting. Within a week, she asked her father to buy her a sport shooting pistol because she wanted to pursue the sport professionally.
Her father, who has been a steadfast supporter throughout Bhaker's struggle, bought her a gun without much thought, and the rest is history.
Bhaker rose to prominence after winning the gold medal at the 2018 ISSF World Cup, and she has since won several other medals in major tournaments such as the Asian Games and the ISSF World Cup. Her skills and achievements have elevated her to the top tier of Indian shooting sports.
2018 ISSF World Cup: Bhaker won gold in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events, which was a notable achievement in her career.
2018 Commonwealth Games: She won gold medals in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events.
2018 Asian Games: Bhaker earned gold in the 10m air pistol and silver in the 25m pistol.
2019 ISSF World Cup: She added to her medal tally with gold in the 10m air pistol and silver in the 25m pistol.
2019 ISSF World Cup Final: She won gold in the 10m air pistol event, firmly establishing herself as a top performer in her discipline.
- PTC NEWS
