Commonwealth Games 2018: 10 things you need to know about CWG gold medalist Manu Bhaker

It's already Day 4 of the Commonwealth Games and after much success in the weightlifting category with India taking home 4 gold medals, the focus has now shifted to shooting. Shooting has always been the forte for Indians to gain medals and this time all eyes are on the youngest member of the Indian contingent, Manu Bhaker, who begins India's shooting saga in the 21st CWG with the 10m women's air pistol event at the Belmont Shooting Range along with Heena Sidhu.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the teen sensation Manu Bhaker -

#1 At just 16 years of age, Manu Bhaker hones a prodigal talent for shooting and is taking the world by thunder.

#2 Manu Bhaker hails from the Goria village near Jhajjar in the Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana which breeds sporting talents.

#3 Her father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy whilst her mother, Sumedha, is now simply known as 'Manu's mother' and not a Sanskrit school teacher, post her daughter's brilliant success in the recent years.

#4 Always restless since her school days, Manu's relationship with sports has been one which is long-lasting though shifting in forms once in a while. Starting off with volleyball, Bhaker's interest in it faded away after getting badly hurt in the eyes when a fellow classmates knee slammed with them during play. She swore never to go back to it again.

#5 Her interests waned towards Thang Ta, a popular martial art form from Manipur, involving swords. Quickly, she transferred her attention to boxing but then again gave it up when she was robbed of her chances of a medal at a tournament in Delhi. She was very influenced by Mary Kom. Till the age of 14, Bhaker excelled in other sports like Huyen langlon, a Manipuri martial art, as well as boxing, tennis, and skating. She went on to win medals at the national games in these events.

#6 Bhaker stumbled on to shooting pretty accidentally when she wondered to her school's deserted shooting range and casually took up a gun and shot a straight 7.5. Soon that talent was nurtured and declared exemplary.

#7 Her father's support was integral as he encouraged her to hone her talent and take up competitive shooting. She first tasted success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. In the 2017 National games held at Kerala, Bhaker won nine gold medal and went on to defeat multiple World Cup medallist Heena Sidhu and broke Sidhu's record of 240.8 points, scoring 242.3 points in the final.

#8 Manu, soon became the youngest person to win a medal at the ISSF World Cup. In the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup held in Guadalajara, Mexico, she won the gold medal in the Women's 10-meter air pistol, defeating Mexico's Alejandra Zavala, a two-time champion. Bhaker scored 237.5 the final match against Zavalaa, who scored 237.1. She won her second gold medal at the World Cup in the mixed team event when she was paired with Om Prakash Mitharval. They scored a brilliant 476.1 points and outclassed Sandra Reitz and Christian Reitz's 475.2.

#9 She scored an impressive 388/400 points at 2018 Commonwealth Games in women's 10m air pistol qulaifying round and qulaified for the finals setting a Commonwealth Game record. Previous record was 386 by Dina Aspandiyarova of Australia.

#10 Considering how Manu's focus shifts from sport to sport and being someone who can never sit still, shooting is quite the unlikely sport for her to have excelled in considering the concentration and 'stillness' it demands and her parent's are afraid she might ditch shooting too one day if she loses interest.