Asian Shooting Championship: With new gun, Manu Bhaker keen to make new start after low-key 2025

Manu Bhaker

After the high of two medals at Paris Olympics, pistol shooter eager to aim high at big events like Asian Games, World Championships and LA 2028 qualifiers

Manu Bhaker is talking about marginal gains. That extra one percent which could well be the difference between a podium finish or nothing.

“I try to do everything that can even help for a little bit in my sport,” she says. “Even if that’s like one percent, I will just go right ahead.”

Last year, it meant making the long trip to the workshop of Italian pistol-makers Pardini in search of a new, better weapon.

Pistol-related heartbreaks have plagued Manu on more than one occasion. In 2019, she was in joint lead in the 25m pistol final at the World Cup when her weapon malfunctioned and her event ended in tears. A couple of years later, at the Tokyo Olympics, the cocking lever of her pistol broke during the qualification round and as she got it fixed, Manu lost approximately 15 minutes, affecting her rhythm.

So, when the Paris Olympics double bronze medallist got to know about the latest model from the Italian gun-maker, she hopped on a flight to test it.

“The company claims that they are better in terms of precision and balance,” she explains. “So, I went ahead and gave it a shot. The balance has definitely improved.”

Manu is quick to add that the skill ultimately lies with the shooter; any suggestion of technology overshadowing skills is bluntly dismissed.

“How we work, how we think about a competition, the approach to a competition and the execution, it remains the same,” she says. “It’s on us how we shoot. The results depend on us, not on the pistol.”

In a crucial year, when there’ll be the Asian Games, the World Championships and the Los Angeles Olympics qualification will get underway, Manu is striving for that extra edge.

More so because 2025 was a bit low-key after the highs of the previous year, with a bronze at the Asian Championship being the year’s highlight.

“2025 was again a year of full circle. A few very good matches. I was in decent form in many of the matches. However, podium finishes were comparatively fewer in 2025. So, hoping that would change soon,” she says.

The 2026 season begins at home with the Asian Championship starting on February 2. With the withdrawal of heavyweights China, the competition may have lost a bit of sheen. But the depth in Indian shooting means winning a medal — even for an Olympic medallist like Manu — will be far from a cakewalk.

India’s bench strength in women’s pistol events, especially, is hard to ignore. In 10m air pistol, there are three Indians in the world’s top 10 — Suruchi Phogat and Esha Singh, apart from Manu. Esha and Manu are also among the top 10 in the 25m pistol event.

The competition, Manu said, keeps her from getting complacent.

“It’s a very good thing to have healthy competition. And it’s a good environment to have the national camps and to train with them,” she says, in a conversation facilitated by Asian Championship broadcasters FanCode. “But then, I am my own competition.”