Who is Manu Bhaker’s Pistol Shooting Team Coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren?

New Delhi: India’s Manu Bhaker etched her name in the history books by  clinching two bronze medals for India at the Paris Olympics 2024. Manu Bhaker won her first bronze in the 10 metre Air Pistol Shooting event and later on she went to clinch second bronze in the 10 metre Air Pistol mixed team event, where she partnered with Sarabjot Singh.

While her success is undeniably her own, it was greatly enhanced by the guidance of Indian pistol shooting contingent’s coach and two-time Olympic medallist, Munkhbayar Dorjsuren.

This was not the first time when Mongolia born Dorjsuren guided an Indian shooter to glory, earlier she trained Rahi Sarnobat and helped clinching the gold at the Asian Games 2018.

She took over as the foreign coach of the Indian national pistol shooting team at the 2022 ISSF World Cup which took place in Changwon, Korea.

Her huge experience of competing at the Olympics was one of the main reasons behind her appointment as the Foreign coach.

Munkhbayar Dorjsuren was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, but later moved to Germany and became a German citizen. She competed in the 25 metre and 10 metre air pistol events.

Dorjsuren boasts an illustrious career, having competed in six Summer Olympics. She represented Mongolia at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Games, earning a bronze medal in the women’s 25-meter pistol at the 1992 Olympics. Adding to her accolades, she clinched the 1998 ISSF World Shooting Championship title in the 10-meter air pistol for Mongolia.

After becoming a German citizen, she represented Germany at the 2004 Summer Olympics, at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She won the 2002 ISSF World Shooting Championships in 25 metre pistol while representing Germany. Dorjsuren won gold in the Milan leg of the 2009 ISSF World Cup, 25 metre pistol category.