Manu Bhaker: India's Shooting Star Shines in Paris Olympic

Historic Olympic Achievement

• Manu Bhaker, 22, won a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
• She became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal.
• Bhaker finished third behind two South Korean shooters: Oh Ye Jin (gold) and Kim Yeji (silver).
• She narrowly missed silver, being eliminated just 0.1 points behind Kim Yeji.
• Bhaker is the fifth Indian to win a medal in shooting at the Olympics.
• She's the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic final in an individual shooting event in 20 years.
• The last Indian woman to reach a shooting final was Suma Shirur in the 10m air rifle event at Athens 2004.
• Bhaker qualified for the final with a score of 580, finishing 3rd in the qualification rounds.
• She shot the highest number of Perfect Scores (27) in the qualification.

Career Highlights and Background

• Youngest ISSF World Cup Gold Medallist from India.
• Won gold at 16 in her maiden Commonwealth Games (2018) in the women's 10m air pistol event.
• Partnered with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan to win gold at the 2022 Asian Games.
• To date, Bhaker has won 15 Gold, 3 Silver, and 1 Bronze medal in international competitions.
• She is a nine-time World Cup medallist.
• Born in Goria village, Haryana's Jhajjar district.
• Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, is a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy.
• Excelled in various sports as a youth, including Manipuri martial arts, boxing, tennis, and skating.
• Won national awards in multiple sports before focusing on shooting.

Olympic Journey and Resilience

• Tokyo Olympics 2021: Faced a setback due to a pistol malfunction, failing to qualify for the final despite a strong start.
• Paris Olympics 2024: Overcame the disappointment of Tokyo to secure a historic bronze medal.
• Bhaker's achievement is particularly significant as it comes three years after her Tokyo Olympics setback.
• Her success in Paris demonstrates her resilience and ability to bounce back from adversity.
• She has now established herself as a trailblazer in Indian shooting, especially for women in the sport.

About Paris Olymics 2024

• Paris Olympics 2024 commemorates between July 26 to August 11, 2024
• Events on the Seine River
• Host City: Paris, France
• Athletes: Expected participation of over 10,000 athletes
• Medal Events: 329 events across all sports

Significance:

• • Third time Paris hosts (after 1900 and 1924)
  • 100 years since last Paris Olympics

New Sports:

• • Breakdancing (Olympic debut)
  • Skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing return after Tokyo 2020

Paralympics: August 28 to September 8, 2024