I will look to give my best shot and win medals for my country says Manu Bhaker

03/06/2018

16-year old shooting sensation Manu Bhaker said that she never expected to win two gold medals at such a young age, and insisted that she just wanted to give her best for her country. Bhaker shot her way to a second gold medal in a mixed team pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Mexico recently.

Manu Bhaker became the youngest Indian to ever win a gold medal at a World Cup when she won the gold in the 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup being held at Guadalajara, Mexico in her final shot of the event. Aged just 16, the youngster bagged her second successive gold of the tournament as she, along with partner Om Prakash Mitharval emerged victorious in the mixed team pistol event.

Bhaker, who is still studying in the 11th standard, is still in disbelief regarding her recent achievements. The teenager claimed that she never thought she would be able to bag a gold medal at a World Cup, that too at such a young age.

"This is unbelievable, I never thought that I would end up winning two gold medals in a senior World Cup. I am obviously delighted with the way my maiden outing in a senior world cup panned out, and I am now looking forward to the upcoming events. As always, I will look to give my best shot and win medals for my country," Bhaker told PTI after her win in the mixed team event.

For someone who took up shooting a mere two years ago, Bhaker has surely come a long way in quite a short time-frame. Winning two golds in such a huge global event is no small feat for a 16-year old teenager.

"I was a little nervous in the individual event. I shot 8.4 in the 17th shot yesterday and an 8.1 in the 19th, so I was not very comfortable but then managed to recover well," Bhaker added.

Last December, the girl from Haryana won the 10m air pistol event, where she outclassed the highly-experienced Heena Sidhu at the 61st National Shooting Championship in Thiruvananthapuram. Bhaker also ended up breaking Sidhu’s long-standing national record in tournament as she went on to win a total of 15 medals.

Bhaker is now focussed on the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney followed by the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games next month.