Chateauroux (France): Right from a very young age it became known that Manu Bhaker was a special, if not an extraordinary kid. From excelling in various sports like boxing, tennis, skating and even Huyen Ianglon, a form of Manipuri martial arts, to smashing records when she switched her focus completely to shooting as a teenager, Bhaker was cut for greatness.
The 22-year-old gave early proof of what an incredible talent she is when she became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The trail-blazer from Jhajjar district in Haryana, went about winning medals, and gold at that, at other World Cups, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and even Asian Games. She was touted as the next big shooter.
The one missing jewel was an Olympic medal, which is often used as the measuring stick for greatness. She was tipped to attain that three years ago in Tokyo but when she failed in the qualification rounds of both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol, there was some who questioned her temperament. Still a teenager then and having allowed the pressure of expectations to get the better of her, Bhakar was in a wreck.
Her goal since then has been to prove she belongs amongst the elite. She was determined to win a medal at the Paris Olympics and prove the naysayers wrong. She wanted to turn those Tokyo tears of heartbreak into Paris tears of joy. The mission of this Olympics was to win a medal.
On a nice balmy Sunday afternoon at the Chateauroux Shooting Range, an army facility around 280 kilometres from Paris, the bloody-minded Bhaker checked that box by bagging a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol. She thereby created history again, becoming the first Indian woman shooter to stand on the Olympic podium.
It was an exceptionally high quality final where the gold medallist Ye Jin Oh of South Korea smashed the Olympic record by totalling 243.2 but Bhaker, focussed as a monk, was brilliant throughout, missing out on a silver to Yeji Kim (241.3) by a whisker (0.1).
Sipping some water at the start and her eyes transfixed on the target, Bhaker meant business right from the word go. After the opening stage where shooters fired 10 times in two sets, Bhaker was in third spot on 100.3. Kim was blazing her way up while her compatriot Ye Jin kept pace too.
The two Koreans, cheered on by a raucous bunch, were in a league of their own but Bhaker too was sensational, constantly scoring in the 10s to never slip out of the top three slot. In fact as the rounds kept progressing and eliminations started occurring after the third set, Bhaker was always miles ahead of the drop zone and in touch with the Koreans.
Having mostly stayed in the third spot, the hopes of a bronze soon turned to silver when Bhaker fired 10.1 to rise to second after Kim fumbled with a 9.4. Bhaker was 0.2 points ahead of Kim and she did her best by firing a 10.3. But the resolute Kim bounced back phenomenally by smashing a 10.5 to retake the second spot and relegate Bhaker to third.
Bhaker, totally expressionless until then, finally gave a smirk. A silver went missing but she finally got one thing she was craving for the last three years, an Olympic medal around her neck. She waved her hands to the gallery before finally settling into her seat as a happy woman.
“It feels surreal actually,” a delighted Bhaker said in the mixed zone. “Obviously I dreamt about it but being here standing with the medal around my neck, it feels surreal. I feel like I’m on top of the world. Competition was very neck to neck and I missed on a chance (to shoot for a higher medal) by 0.1. But nonetheless, I’m really grateful that I could win the medal for all of us and India,” she added before stressing she’ll resume her hunt for medals in the 25m event, her pet event.
Given her form and focus, there could be more from the one destined for great things.