India will look to shooter Manu Bhaker to lead India’s medal charge after her exploits at the Paris Olympics 2024.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Manu Bhaker.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Eyeing glory in next World Championship, double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker said Jaspal Rana will continue to be her “coach” despite the Dronacharya awardee being roped in as the High Performance trainer for pistol discipline by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Rana, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, had a very bitter and public fallout with Manu before the Tokyo Olympics but they reconciled before last year’s Paris Games, where the latter made history by bagging two bronze medals.

“Honestly, I only have to say one thing that he (Rana) is my coach all I know and he is very good at what he does. He is very, very talented and he has been a great coach for me.

“All I know and all I can say is that he is my coach. Of course, he can be anyone else’s coach as well but for me he is my coach,” Manu said after winning the BBC Sportswomen of the Year 2024 award at a glittering function here on Monday night.

Under Rana’s personal guidance, Manu, who was struggling after the Tokyo Games, made a remarkable comeback and became the first Indian to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics since Independence.

She won bronze medals in 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events in Paris to create history.

Talking about her future plans, Manu said: “We will be going for World Cups in April, and then we have some domestic competitions in June.

“It will be followed by another World Cup in Munich. Then we will have the World Championships, probably in late October or November. My target is the World Championships. I want to peak at the right time for the World Championships,” she added.

The season-ending World Championships will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from November 6-16.

Her unprecedented success in Paris wouldn’t have been possible without Rana’s guidance and Manu agrees to it. Manu, who turned 23 on Tuesday, considers Rana as her father figure, while the coach gives her the courage and confidence to seek and achieve great things in her sport.

Rana now has been roped in as the High Performance coach for pistol shooters by the NRAI but Manu still considers him as her mentor.

Rana had earlier served as the national coach for the juniors for about a decade, building a strong base for Indian shooting.

After the Paris Olympics, Manu took a long break and was working on her sore elbow.

Upon her return to the competitive circuit at the National trials here earlier this month, Manu finished second behind Rhythm Sangwan but she was satisfied with her performance.

“It was a pretty decent comeback. I am satisfied with what I have achieved in the trials,” she said.

Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker said Jaspal Rana will continue to be her “coach” despite the Dronacharya awardee being roped in as the High Performance trainer for pistol discipline by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) earlier this month. Rana, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, had a fall-out with Manu before the Tokyo Olympics but they reconciled before the last year’s Paris Games, where the latter made history by bagging two bronze medals. Under Rana’s personal guidance, Manu, who was struggling after the Tokyo Games, made a remarkable comeback and became the first Indian to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics since Independence.

She won bronze medals in 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events in Paris to create history.

But it wouldn’t have been possible without Rana’s guidance and Manu agrees to it.

Rana now has been roped in as the High Performance coach for pistol shooters by the NRAI but Manu still considers him as her mentor.

“Honestly, I only have to say one thing that he (Rana) is my coach all I know and he is very good at what he does. He is very very talented and he has been a great coach for me.

“All I know and all I can say is that he is my coach. Of course, he can be anyone else’s coach as well but for me he is my coach,” Manu said after winning the BBC Sportswomen of the Year 2024 award at a glittering function here on Monday night.

Rana had earlier served as the National coach for the juniors for about a decade, building a strong base for Indian shooting.

After the Paris Olympics, Manu took a long break and was working on her sore elbow.

Upon her return to the competitive circuit at the National trials here earlier this month, Manu finished second behind Rhythm Sangwan but she was satisfied with her performance.

“It was a pretty decent comeback. I am satisfied with what I have achieved in the trials,” she said.

Talking about her future plans, Manu said: “We will be going for World Cups in April, and then we have some domestic competitions in June.

“It will be followed by another World Cup in Munich. Then we will have the World Championships, probably in late October or November. My target is the World Championships. I want to peak at the right time for the World Championships,” she added.

The season-ending World Championships will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from November 6-16.

Star Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year on Monday, following her outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics. Manu was among five nominees for the award, alongside golfer Aditi Ashok, para shooter Avani Lekhara, India women’s cricket vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and wrestler Vinesh Phogat — each recognised for their exceptional contributions to Indian sport. The nominees were shortlisted by an eminent jury of sports journalists and writers.

Now in its fifth edition, the ISWOTY Award celebrates and honours remarkable achievements of women athletes in India.

Manu, 22, won the award for winning two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Indian athlete since Independence to win multiple medals at a single Games.

She secured bronze in the 10m air pistol individual event as well as the 10m air pistol mixed team event.

In 2018, Manu made history as the youngest Indian shooter to win a World Cup gold at just 16.

A recipient of the Arjuna Award, she previously won BBC’s Emerging Player of the Year award in 2021.

Other award winners on the night included para archer Sheetal Devi (BBC Emerging Player of the Year), former India women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj (BBC Lifetime Achievement Award), and para shooter Avani (BBC Para Sportswoman of the Year).

Chess player Tania Sachdev was conferred with the BBC Changemaker Award.

Manu expressed gratitude for the recognition and reflected on her journey to Olympic success.

“I thank BBC for honouring me. A few years ago, I won the Emerging Player award and now this year I got the big one. My journey was full of ups and downs,” Manu said in her address.

“After Tokyo I struggled a lot, lost many events but journey didn’t end, it continued. You can only write your own story and I did that in Paris. Now the journey will continue, and I would like to change the colour of the medal in Los Angeles (2028 Olympics).” 

Olympian Manu Bhaker’s grandmother and maternal uncle died in a road accident.© AFP

Manu Bhaker and D Gukesh provided a sprinkling of stardust but it was the para-athletes who walked away with the most boisterous applause when President Droupadi Murmu bestowed the National Sports Awards in a regal ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. Double Olympic-medallist Bhaker, 18-year-old chess world champion Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar were presented the country’s highest sporting honour — the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna.

The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August last year.

Harmanpreet was a part of the national sides that won bronze medals in the Tokyo as well as Paris Olympics. Praveen, on the other hand, upgraded his silver at the Japanese capital to a gold in Paris. He was born with a short left leg.

The 18-year-old Gukesh was crowned the youngest ever chess world champion after he beat China’s Ding Liren last month. He is only the second Indian after the great Viswanathan Anand to achieve this title.

He was also a crucial factor in India winning the men’s gold in the Chess Olympiad in September last.

Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 were para-athletes.

The athletes selected for the Arjuna award included Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning group of wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh (Bhaker’s partner in the 10m air pistol mixed competition of Olympics) and the men’s hockey team players Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Abhishek.

The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.

President Murmu repeatedly broke from tradition to receive some wheelchair-bound athletes such as Pranav Soorma, who got the Arjuna for his Paralympic silver in club throw.

Petkar draws loudest applause

The most heartwarming moment of the ceremony was when India’s first Paralympic gold-medallist Murlikant Petkar walked up to the President on crutches to receive the Arjuna award (lifetime).

The 80-year-old war hero, who was disabled waist down due to bullet wounds sustained during the 1965 battle against Pakistan, was originally a boxer but turned to para-swimming. He persevered to win a historic gold medal in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg.

The veteran was welcomed with a rapturous applause that did not stop till he was seated back after collecting the award from the President.

One among those clapping for him at the Durbar Hall was actor Kartik Aryan, who played Petkar in a recent biopic titled ‘Chandu Champion’.

Dignitaries, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, parliamentary and minority affairs minister Kiren Rijuju, sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, were among those who attended the ceremony that lasted a little over an hour.

While the Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

The Arjuna Awards are given to sportspersons who have demonstrated good performance over the past four years and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline.

The annual honours are decided by a points system in which the maximum emphasis is on performances delivered at the Olympics and the World Championships.

The award-winners (2024 awards):

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: D Gukesh (Chess),Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting).

Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey, S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Physical Education Foundation of India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for top-performing university in the Khelo India University Games: Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

File photo of Manu Bhaker with her Olympics medals© AFP

Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker and chess world champion D Gukesh are among four athletes finalised for Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by the Sports Ministry on Thursday. Men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold medal winner Praveen Kumar will also get the prestigious award. The Khel Ratna is the highest sporting honour for sportspersons in India. The sports ministry also named 32 athletes, including 17 para-athletes, for Arjuna awards. 

Recently, there was a huge furore after some news reports claimed that Manu’s name was missing from the list of athletes recommended for Khel Ratna. Manu’s father Ram Kishan and coach Jaspal Rana were furious over the snub. However, Manu Bhaker admitted that there might have been a lapse in her part while filing for the nomination. 

“With regards to ongoing issue for my nomination for the most prestigious Khel Ratna award-I would like to state that as an athlete my role is to play and perform for my country. Awards and recognition keeps me motivated but are not my goal. I believe there has been a lapse, maybe on my part while filing for the nomination which is being corrected. Irrespective of the award I shall remain motivated to win more medals for my country. It is a request to everyone, please do not speculate on this matter,” Manu Bhaker wrote in a post on X. 

The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August.

In the same Games, Harmanpreet led the Indian hockey team to its second consecutive bronze medal.

The 18-year-old Gukesh, on the other hand, became the youngest ever World champion while also helping the Indian team win a historic gold in the Chess Olympiad last year.

The fourth recipient will be para high-jumper Praveen, who was crowned the T64 champion in the Paris Paralympics. The T64 classification is for athletes who have one or both legs missing below the knee and rely on a prosthetic leg for running.

“The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17th January, 2025 (Friday) at 1100 hours,” the sports ministry said in a press release. 

With PTI inputs

Shooter Manu Bhaker opened India’s medal tally at the Paris 2024 Olympics, making history by securing third place in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event. She became the first-ever woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal, adding a significant milestone to her already illustrious career. In Paris, Bhaker secured two bronze medals in the shooting events, becoming the first Indian athlete in the post-independence era to achieve this feat in a single edition of the Olympics. This remarkable accomplishment was held by Norman Pritchard, who won two medals at the 1900 Paris Games.

Bhaker, alongside Sarabjot Singh, clinched her second bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event. The duo displayed exceptional consistency, defeating South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin with a score of 16-10 in the bronze medal play-off match. Their victory marked India’s first-ever shooting team medal at the Olympics.

Despite narrowly missing out on a historic treble by finishing fourth in the women’s 25m pistol event, Bhaker’s achievements in Paris cement her status as the most successful Indian woman shooter in history. Her career is already decorated with gold medals from the World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Youth Olympic Games.

This success comes after the heartbreak of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where a pistol malfunction denied Bhaker a shot at a medal in the same event. Her resilience and determination have now propelled her to the pinnacle of Indian shooting sports.

Born on February 18, 2002, in Jhajjar, Haryana, Bhaker initially pursued a variety of sports, including tennis, skating, and boxing. She also excelled in ‘thang ta’, a form of martial arts, winning medals at the national level before dedicating herself to shooting.

India’s overall performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was commendable, securing a total of six medals–one silver and five bronze. Swapnil Kusale contributed to the tally with a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. The Indian men’s hockey team added to the medal count by winning back-to-back bronze medals for the first time in 52 years, defeating Spain 2-1.

In track and field, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra narrowly missed defending his Tokyo gold medal, but he brought home a silver with a throw of 89.45m. Wrestler Aman Sehrawat, making his Olympic debut, clinched a bronze medal with a 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz.

India’s impressive haul at the Paris 2024 Olympics underscores the country’s growing prowess in a diverse range of sports, setting a promising precedent for future competitions.