Manu Bhaker Height, Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Sports Shooter
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 6" (168 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Shooting
Event(s)	• 10 m Air Pistol • 25 m Air Pistol
Medals	Gold • In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Guadalajara ISSF World Cup • In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2018 Guadalajara ISSF World Cup • In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games • In 10 m air pistol at the 2018 Goldcoast Commonwealth games • In 10-meter air pistol women at the 2018 Sydney ISSF Junior World Cup • In Mixed team 10m pistol air at the 2018 Sydney ISSF Junior World Cup • In 10m air pistol women at the 2018 Suhl ISSF Junior World Cup • In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 New Delhi ISSF World Cup • In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Beijing ISSF World Cup • In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Munich ISSF World Cup • In 10m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Rio de Janeiro ISSF World Cup • In 10m air pistol at the 2019 Doha Asian Shooting Championships • In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2019 Doha Asian Shooting Championships • In 10m air pistol at the 2019 Putian China ISSF World Cup • In the Women’s 25m Air Pistol Team event at the 2023 Asian Games, held in Hangzhou, China Silver • In 10 m air pistol mixed team at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games Bronze • In the women's 25m pistol at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol competition in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India • In the women's shooting 10m air pistol event at the 2024 Paris Olympics • In the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics - paired with Sarabjot Singh
Coach/Mentor	Jaspal Rana
Records (main ones)	• First athlete in history of independent India to win two medals in a single Olympics edition (2024) • First Indian female athelete to win a medal in Shooting at Olympic Games (2024) • Youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup (2018) • The first shooter from India and the first female athlete from India to grab a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games (2018)
Awards	• Arjuna Award (2020) • Best Young Athlete Award (2019) at the Sportstar Aces Awards
Personal Life
Date of Birth	18 February 2002 (Monday)
Age (as of 2024)	22 Years
Birthplace	Goria, Jhajjar district, Haryana
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Jhajjar, Haryana
School	Universal Public Senior Secondary School, Jhajjar, Haryana
College/University	• DAV College, Chandigarh • Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi
Educational Qualifications	• Masters in Public Administration from Dav College • Bachelors in Political Science (Hons) from Lady Shri Ram College
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Jat
Food Habit	Vegetarian
Hobbies	Music, Reading, Painting, Sketching, Dance, Puzzle Solving
Controversies	Controversy over prize money On 4 January 2019, she posted screenshots of Haryana sports minister Anil Vij' tweet in which he had promised her cash award of ₹2 crore on behalf of the Haryana government. Later, the minister slammed her for creating controversy over prize money.
Social Media	• Instagram • Facebook • Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Family
Parents	Father- Ram Kishan Bhaker (a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy) Mother- Sumedha Bhaker (School principal)
Siblings	Brother- Akhil Bhaker
Favourites
Cricketer(s)	Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni
Sportperson(s)	Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Usain Bolt
Food	Aloo Paratha
Dessert	Gajar Ka Halwa

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manu Bhaker

• By the age of 14, Manu excelled in many sports and won over 60 national medals in national games like boxing, skating, volleyball, horse riding, martial arts, and tennis.

• She has had a great inclination towards sport since her childhood.
  

  A Hoarding At the Rooftop of Manu Bhaker’s School

• Manu is an equestrian.
  

  Manu Bhaker clicked during horse riding

• Before shooting, Manu also played archery, boxing, skating, cricket, table tennis, kabaddi, karate and thang ta (a Manipuri martial art).
  

  Manu Bhaker trying her hand at archery

• Manu’s family runs the Universal Public Senior Secondary School in their village Goria in Jhajjar, Haryana. They started the school in 2004.

• An eye injury while playing volleyball in school compelled Manu to choose a non-contact sport to compete in after which she chose shooting.

• Once, Manu visited her school’s shooting range and casually took a pistol and straightaway shot 7.5. The coach was astonished as it normally takes 6-months to a year to shoot so accurately.
  

  Manu Bhaker in the shooting range

• Manu was 14 years old when she tried her hand at shooting. Since her first tryst with a pistol, Manu Bhaker has been raved about as India’s next big shooting sensation.

• Manu used to travel 25 kilometres every day to train for 5 hours a day.

• With her father’s ₹1.5 lakh investment to undergo competitive shooting, Manu’s first international success came in 2017 when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships.

• Manu likes to do yoga.
  

  Manu Bhaker doing yoga

• At the 2017 National Games held in Kerala, she won 9 gold medals, there, she also defeated Heena Sidhu (multiple World Cup medalist), and also broke Sidhu’s record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final.
  

  Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu (Right)

• Manu was the flagbearer for India at the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.

• At the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Manu Bhaker became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the World Cup.

• At the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Manu Bhaker set a new Commonwealth Games record of 240.9 points.

• Manu Bhaker’s parents say that she is such an adventurous and fearless girl that once during a bungee-jumping in Shimla, she didn’t even wait for the instructor’s advice to jump off the platform.

• Manu has kept a dog named Whiskey.
  

  Manu Bhaker with her pet dog

• Manu broke the junior world record with her score of 244.7 to win a gold medal in the 10m air pistol at the 2019 Putian China ISSF World Cup.

• Manu’s father is not fully convinced that she will stick to shooting forever. He further says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if she tells me one day that she wants to quit the sport, even if she has won an Olympic medal. Woh alag type ki ladki hai.”
  

  Manu Bhaker With Her Father

• Manu was 18 years old when his father left his merchant navy job to support her daughter’s shooting ambitions.

• In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Manu’s pistol jammed in the middle of the 10m air pistol qualification event, forcing Manu to move away from the competition to fix the gun. Later, it was found that the lever in the pistol was broken which created the problem.

• Manu Bhaker supported the decision of NRAI to relieve Rana from coaching duties ahead of the Tokyo Olympics as she revealed that Jaspal Rana’s attitude towards her was not good and there was a rift between them even before the commencement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

• In December 2021, Manu was crowned the women’s 10m air pistol champion for the second successive time at the 64th National Shooting Championship.

• At the 2023 Asian Games, Manu Bhaker won the gold medal in the women’s 25m air pistol team competition. She, however, secured the 5th position with 21 points in the women’s individual 25m air pistol competition at the same event. ^[1]India Today

• Manu secured a quota for India for the Paris 2024 Olympic games after finishing fifth in the women’s 25m pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 in Changwon.

• Here’s an interesting video about Manu Bhaker’s biography:

• Manu’s training cost the Indian government Rs. 2 crore under the Khelo India initiative, including international trips.

• In the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Manu won 2 back to back medals ending India’s 12-year wait for a medal in shooting in the Olympic games. India’s last Olympic medal in shooting was won by Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar in 2012.

• Manu received a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate her after she won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

• Manu said in an interview that she once created a fake account on social media to defend PV Sindhu from the trolls on social media.

• After winning the Bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Manu said in an interview that Gita helped her stay calm in difficult situations, due to which she could win the medal.

• After winning medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics, many brands started using Manu Bhakar’s image without permission, after which Manu’s management company IOS Sports & Entertainment took action against them based on Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines.

• During the 2024 Paris Olympics, a video went viral in which Neeraj Chopra was seen having a conversation with Manu’s mother. The video gave rise to the rumours about their marriage. However, in an interview, Manu Bhakar denied the rumours and said,
  

  I’ve heard these rumours, but let me clarify—there is nothing to them. The video was taken out of context. I was not present during that conversation between my mother and Neeraj, so I can’t comment on what exactly was said.”

• Manu was later announced as the flag bearer for the Indian contingent, along with P. R. Sreejesh, at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.