New Delhi: In 2017, a 15-year-old girl made headlines as she pipped two-time Olympian Heena Sidhu to win the 10m air pistol final at the national shooting championships. On Sunday, the former world number 1, came out to laud the same ace shooter for scripting history in Indian sports.
“What a performance by Manu Bhaker!! It was steady, composed shooting throughout the qualifications and finals. But it’s not over yet. Let’s go guys!!” Sidhu posted on ‘X’.
At 22, Bhaker is now an Olympic bronze medalist in the 10m air pistol event at the Paris edition of the sporting spectacle. In the process, she not only ended a 12-year drought for India in shooting, but also became the first female shooter from the country to win an Olympic medal.
Bhaker lost out narrowly by 0.1 point to South Korea’s Yeji Kim, who lost to her fellow shooter Oh Ye Jin in the final. After she clinched bronze in Paris, Bhaker fondly mentioned her mother’s ‘aloo ke parathe’ as her favourite food and jokingly took a bite of her medal, symbolising her sweet success.
Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh will be now competing Tuesday for bronze medal after finishing third in 10m air pistol mixed team qualification round. She will be taking part in the 25m air pistol event as well. If Bhaker manages a medal, she will become the first from the country to win two medals in the same edition of the largest sporting gala.
Winning this medal is a dream come true, not just for me but for everyone who has supported me. I am deeply grateful to the NRAI, SAI, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Coach Jaspal Rana sir, Haryana government and OGQ. I dedicate this victory to my country for their incredible… pic.twitter.com/hnzGjNwUhv
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) July 28, 2024
Apart from the podium finish, her strong comeback from the disappointment in Tokyo where she suffered a gun malfunction in the qualifiers is making Bhaker toast of the shooting community and the nation alike.
Accolades have poured in from the sporting community from the likes of Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P.T.Usha, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, and India cricket coach Gautam Gambhir.
Hailing from Haryana, Manu Bhaker’s sporting journey could have been very different as she simultaneously excelled in tennis, skating, and the Manipuri martial art of Thang-Ta. But fate had some other plans as she found herself taking aim at targets in quiet shooting ranges.
And if 2017 saw her make headlines in India, the world took note of the 16-year-old shooter the next year as she won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
Her prowess came to the fore in 2018 again as she won the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup’s 10m air pistol in Mexico.
Over the years, she has raked up an impressive medal tally that includes gold in 25m pistol team in Asian Games 2022, silver in 25m pistol in World Championship, Cairo 2022, bronze in 25m pistol in World Cup, Bhopal 2023, and gold in 25m pistol team in World Championship, Baku 2023.
Like all sporting champions, Bhaker also went through a lean period following the Tokyo Olympics where she had competed in three events. In 2023, she reunited with her former coach Jaspal Rana, a move that has proven instrumental in her resurgence.
Talking to the broadcasters in Paris, former India shooter and 2012 London Olympics medalist Gagan Narang praised Manu Bhaker, saying she’s one of the most sorted and mature shooters around.
He noted that, at just 22, Manu has already shown remarkable calm and composure in the shooting circuit, where sportspersons often age faster than their years due to the intense mental demands of the sport, which requires managing inner turmoil to deliver steady shots, a feat Manu has accomplished with remarkable poise.
Talking to the broadcaster after her podium finish, Bhaker credited the Bhagavad Gita as her inspiration, keeping its words close to herself during the final event.
“I read a lot of Gita and all, so what was going through my mind is its teaching, ‘just do what you are meant to do, just do what you are supposed to do and whatever the destiny, you can’t control the outcome of it’. In the Gita, Krishna says to Arjun ‘You know you focus on your karma and not on the outcome of the Karma’, so only that was running through my mind. I was like, ‘Okay, just do your thing and let it all be from here,” she said after her podium finish.
Call it destiny or Karma, the champion from Jhajjar found herself in the ‘zone’ at Chateauroux shooting range on Sunday as she shot her way to history books.
(Edited by Tony Rai)