Chateauroux: A week that elevated her to cult status ended up in heart-break as Manu Bhaker fell agonisingly short of signing off from the Paris Olympics with a third medal.
Having already made history by becoming the first Indian athlete ever to win two medals at a single Olympics, the 22-year-old starlet was hoping to cap those bronze medals with another one of a different hue in the 25m pistol at the Chateauroux Shooting Range. Possibly a gold too that would have put her in a league of her own.
For most parts of a pulsating final where fortunes flung continuously, Bhaker kept herself in the medal hunt despite a tepid start. She even rose to second place as the contest went deeper and deeper. A gold too was within sight. But right at the end in the eighth series, Bhaker allowed the pressure to get the better of her, losing in a shoot-off to Veronika Major of Hungary to settle for fourth place.
The sleepy town of Chateauroux woke up to a huge number of Indians — media, coaches and fans — who flocked to the range in hope of witnessing history. Given Bhaker’s unwavering focus over the last week and her extra determination, there was genuine belief of the Jhajjar-born youngster nailing a third medal. Many wanted to be a part of the moment.
Bhaker, who has been handling all those pressures and expectations exceptionally over the last week in winning the 10m air rifle individual bronze and 10m air rifle mixed team medal of the same hue with Sarabjot Singh, seemed burdened by those for the first time as she could only find the target twice in the opening series.
Bhaker though bounced back brilliantly after the opening flop. She hit 4 in her second series, 3 in the third, a perfect 5 in the fifth and 4 in the 6th to rise to second position. At that stage she was just two shots behind leader and eventual gold medal winner Jiin Yang of South Korea.
In the seventh series, Bhaker momentarily rose to first position as cheers rang in the arena. And when she fired 4 to cut the lead to just one shot after the series, a gold appeared within reach. She was now trying to emulate Abhinav Bindra as just the second Indian shooter to win an Olympic gold and the third from the country to ever do so. This is the mountain of pressure that was sitting on her slender shoulders.
And such pressure makes even the strongest commit errors and Bhaker erred for the second time in the final. She could only manage a 2 that not only shocked her but the gathering as well. Even in training, Bhaker barely scores a 2 but heart rates don’t spike there unlike the final.
It still wasn’t doom and gloom for Bhaker as could still keep her dreams of winning a third medal alive if she won the shoot-off against Major to eliminate the fourth shooter. Bhaker gathered all her focus, nailed the targets in her opening two attempts but misses in the third and fourth cost her. She managed 3 to Mayor’s 4.
A medal, a gold at one stage, that appeared within her grasp slipped through her fingers. She walked back dejected before being comforted by coach Dorjsuren Munkhbayar. She sat emotionless, still processing how it just went downhill at the very end.
When the final was over and the names of the winners flashed up on the giant monitor, she just gazed at it in dismay. Her name could have been there which would have made the trip back to India a lot sweeter. It wasn’t to be and she let off a shrug. Munkhbayar put her arms over Bhaker from behind and consoled her. Bhaker still sat dejected. It was a big miss but the youngster can still walk away proud of her splendid performance over the last week.