Manu Bhaker hoping for more podium finishes this year, says new pistol is better in terms of balance
Italian firearms manufacturer Pardini’s new sport pistol is better in terms of balance, double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker said on Thursday while setting her sights on more podium finishes this year after a rather subdued 2025 by her own standards.
In 2026, Indian shooters have a packed international calendar, featuring major continental championships on home soil, the Asian Games, and several ISSF World Cup legs. Key highlights include the Asian Championship in New Delhi, the Asian Games in Japan, and the ISSF World Championships.
“2025 was a year of full circle. I had some very good matches, I was in decent form in many of the matches. However, the podium finish was comparatively lower in 2025, so I am hoping that would change soon. I will try my best,” Bhaker said during an interaction.
The 23-year-old will be using the new models for the 25m sport pistol but will continue to shoot with the same pistol in 10m, something that she has been doing since 2017.
“Regarding the new pistol, the company claimed that they are better in terms of precision and balance, we are trying it out. There could be just slight difference, but I feel that it’s on us how we shoot, the results depend on us and not on the pistols. But even the slightest of improvement is an improvement. So, definitely it can help.”
“I feel it’s better in terms of balance.”
A key factor in her turnaround was reuniting with coach Jaspal Rana, which brought greater stability, focus, and technical improvement to her shooting, particularly in handling pressure.
She said they have made a couple of changes post the Paris Games.
“As soon as Paris was over for us we were eyeing the LA 2028 and changed a couple of things, starting with the pistol itself. We had new models coming in for 25 metres that is. We got the latest model that was launched in 2025 itself, so we switched to those pistols, and in grips also, we did some changes according to the new ISSF rules.
Also read | Bangladesh shooters to travel to India for Asian C’ships, confirms NRAI
“However, the technique remains the same, how we work, how we think about a competition, approach a competition, and the execution.. they remain the same.”
Bhaker made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by becoming the first Indian post-Independence to win two medals in a single edition of the Games, securing bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
“The end goal for me definitely remains the Olympic Games (in 2028) and also all the competitions in the coming time. The Asian Games is this year, the World Championships, the Olympic quota competitions will also open end of this year. So we are looking forward to progressive growth.
“This (upcoming) Asian Championship will definitely show us how good we are in terms of shape, in terms of technique, and the changes we need to do, if we need to improve in certain things, so this will be a very good event especially for analytics.
The Asian Rifle and Pistol Championship will take place at Dr Karni Singh Range here from February 2 to 14, with 17 countries sending more than 300 shooters.
Bhaker said she doesn’t get affected by the weight of expectations or criticism anymore, but thanked people for turning up to cheer for her during competitions.
“Ever since the Olympics I have seen that a lot of people come in during my game, cheering for me also, supporting me, and regardless of how my performance is, I mean even if I am finishing in the podium or not, I have seen a very positive change in people, and I really appreciate that.
“Because sometimes we only see positive feedback, positivity from people, and that can really help. But honestly, for me, I’m very well aware of the criticism that might follow after a bad competition or praise that might follow after a good competition. So that does not really affect me that much.
“Earlier I would definitely say that it was affecting me but right now I don’t think that it’s going to matter much to me.” With their consistent performances at the international level, youngsters such as Suruchi Singh, Esha Singh and Palak have raised the bar in Indian shooting in recent years, and Bhaker said it’s always great to have healthy competition.
“I feel that Indian shooting has really grown over the past many years. We can definitely point the difference out because it’s so evident. If we compare the 2016 Nationals with 2025 Nationals, we see that a vast majority of people have taken up the sport, and the number of athletes have also shot up.
“We have many good shooters coming up. It’s a very good thing to have healthy competition. But at this point I only feel that I’m my own competition and I only think in a way that, yes, I’m competitive, but I can only think about how I can improve myself, my game,” she said.
Bhaker is also about to complete a decade in competitive shooting, and she said she clearly remembers all her competitions.
“The journey definitely has been full of ups and downs. I have had some fantastic matches and at the same time I have also had some major heartbreaks also. I remember all the competitions vividly, and I think all of you were there for the Tokyo thing that happened and the Paris moments as well.”
Published on Jan 29, 2026