Manu Bhaker’s glorious campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics has made the 22-year-old shooter from Haryana a household name in India. Manu is the first Indian shooter to win a medal at the Olympics. Jaspal Rana, himself a shooting champion during his playing days, was a big factor in shaping Manu’s career. Rana was present in the stands when Manu won two bronze medals at the Paris Games to create history. (Paris 2024 Olympic Games Medal Count)
Manu had the chance to add a third medal to her Paris Games haul, but fell short after finishing fourth in the women’s 25m pistol event. Rana spoke to NDTV after Manu’s event ended and explained how he guided Manu to reach great heights.
“I don’t get that credit (of being the biggest factor behind Manu’s victory). There are a lot of people involved. Everyone helped in their own way – the SAI, the government, the TOPs,” Jaspal Rana told NDTV.
“Manu was also ready without me. We trained like that too. She was trained in a way that even if I’m not on the playing field, it doesn’t matter. We saw those tests in Bhopal. I had the right to sit with her, but I No. I sat with the audience. You can check out the footage. But this is a bigger event, sometimes this is all because of PT Usha.
Rana also said that more than the ‘technique’ of scoring good goals, it is the mental aspect that he worked on with Manu.
“You can’t teach them to shoot. They are next generation. They are better software. Teaching them is not a problem. We just need to make adjustments. When you train hard, you make small mistakes that matter a lot in the long run. We have to be careful with that. People think I teach her my way of doing things. However, as I trained in the past, there is no comparison to shooting. , said Rana.
“I was available everywhere. I had no social life. I encourage her to have a social life, find friends. Otherwise, she will burn out. If that happens, the results won’t come.”
Can Manu Bhaker be a normal girl again?
“No. You have to pay a price. Can Sachin Tendulkar walk on the streets? No. There is a price you have to pay. You have luxury but you lose a lot of freedom. I can walk freely. People don’t recognize me, I’m fine with this,” he said.
After her first medal, Manu said that reading the Bhagavad Gita helped her a lot. Rana said that inculcating the principles of the Gita helped Manu a lot.
“She’s on a war field, where she has to make decisions. She didn’t let her parents come here. We knew that if something went wrong, it would be their fault. I can take that blame, but not the parents.” he said.
So, is Rana-Bhaker the Krishna-Arjun of Indian firing squad?
“I am someone who follows Krishna, you can call her Arjun,” said Rana.
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