Manu Bhaker

Manu Bhaker

Manu Bhaker, all of 16, has been able to handle world stage with equanimity, the success and even the lack of it.

Even though she had dominated in the National championship in 2017, winning the women’s, junior and youth gold medals, Manu’s class was acknowledged when she won the Commonwealth Games gold in Australia, ahead of Olympian Heena Sidhu.

In the Asian Games and World Championships she was not at her best, even though the qualification scores were high, especially in sports pistol in which she shot 593 out of 600.

Manu went on to assert herself in the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires by winning the air pistol gold in October, and the international mixed team silver thereafter. 

Earlier in the season, Manu had earlier won the World Cup gold in women’s air pistol in Guadalajara, Mexico, in March apart from the gold in the Junior World Cups in both Sydney in March and Suhl in June respectively.

The 16-year-old started shooting in school in April 2016, forcing her father Ramkishan Bhaker to buy her a pistol within a month. Manu took the early strides in the sport from the Haryana State and North Zone championships.