The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Manu misses hat- trick by a whisker
Trailblazing youngster finishes fourth in 25m pistol event in a shoot- off, but determined not to sit on her laurels
JASPAL RANA shares a nugget that offers a glimpse into the stubborn mindset of an athlete who hates rejection.
Sauntering at the Athletes Village a couple of days ago, Manu Bhaker spotted a goat in the fields and offered it a plum. “The goat just walked away in the other direction, not accepting the fruit,” Rana, a former world champion who is Manu’s coach, said.
On Friday, Manu returned to the same spot and sat under the harsh Chateauroux sun at the same spot for hours with a plum in her hand, waiting for the goat to reappear. “She felt rejected,” Rana said.
The Olympics, Manu felt, had rejected her the same way. In Tokyo, the pistol shooter was made to feel she didn’t belong to this big stage. She came to Paris with a vengeance and will take home two bronze medals.
A historic third, on Saturday in the 25m pistol, wasn't to be.
Millimeters separated Manu and her bid to venture into territory previously considered unthinkable in India's Olympic history – winning t hree medals at t he s ame Olympics. In a best- of- five shoot- off to stay in contention for a medal, Manu hit the target three times while Hungary’s Veronika Major, the eventual bronze medallist, had one more.
The week t hat must have fe l t l i ke a dream ended cruelly. Like all athletes who come close to the podium but fall agonisingly short, Manu did not know how to feel about the fourth place she managed. “At least, it’s better than not reaching the final,” she said.
A pacifying way for Manu — already a league of her own after becoming the first sportsperson in independent India to win two medals at the same Games — to look at the result would be that she is now a part of another list of Indian legends, dubious as it may be, who finished fourth at the Olympic Games. But like Aditi Ashok said in Tokyo, it's not a list athletes aspire to be a part of. “It's not a great feeling, I'll be honest,” Manu admitted.
Fo r t he f i r st t i me t hi s week , Manu l o o ke d ner vo us o n t he f i r i ng l i ne a nd sounded unsure outside it. Did she feel the pressure of winning a third medal, the twin bro nz e me dal l i st was a s ke d. “E r r, ” s he paused. “Erm… pressure? Let me think…”
Her brain, she finally muttered, “had gone blank” at t hat moment af te r t he match. And her right hand was bruised; turned purple and blue with the constant lifting of the weapon, holding it in a way that can't be comfortable. She flaunts it as proudly as the medals.
These gashes do not hurt her. But the exhaustion of a heady week finally seemed to be taking its toll and the enormity of what she has achieved was finally sinking in.
Leading light
Until now, Manu has held India's campaign together. If not for her, India's tally at these Olympics would perhaps have been stuck at only one bronze medal.
And like Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra before her, she has set a new bar for what would be considered path- breaking at an Olympics – more than two individual medals, or at least two of a better colour. Her medals will have an impact on the aspirational levels of Indian athletes at an Olympics, as shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had pointed out.
Even at a personal level, Manu is bracing for what lies ahead following a lifechanging week. How can life ever be normal again for a 22- year- old political science student who has two Olympic medals, with brands lining up and who had a casual tetea- tete with the Prime Minister?
“I don't have an answer to t his ri ght now,” she said. “But I will try to remain my own self. Just be myself.”
Confidence and maturity
That would mean being a girl who loves to cook, sketch, play the violin, ride horses and do what any other normal 22- year- old would. And start a Sunday morning with a ‘ long, peaceful session of yoga and meditation and play some good music.’
“Arijit Singh… oh ho ho ho,” she gasps. “Diljit Dosanjh, too! Tomorrow, I won't be in a rush, so I can do that.”
Paris is on her mind now, be there, enjoy normal Village life and maybe, just maybe, be India's flag- bearer at next Sunday's closing ceremony. That prospect lights up her eyes.
But one of the first things she hoped to do was write down all her learnings from this week in her journal. The journal, which has all her scores and the raw, unfiltered thoughts, won't lie when she returns to the range after the expected hullabaloo on her return to Delhi. It'll also serve as both remembrance and motivation. Like it did from Tokyo to Paris.
“One t hi ng di f f e re nt t hat was ve r y prominent with my performances and behaviour was confidence. In Tokyo, I was not confident at all. I was kind of scared with everything,” Manu said. “This time, I feel much more confident and mature.”
The journal will also remind her of unfinished business from this campaign. “The fourth- place finish is only going to motivate me,” she said. Two medals she might have, but Manu isn't one to take failure lightly.
Even if it's something as mundane as feeding a goat, which she insisted, was a ‘ battle she won.’ “Not just a plum, I fed the goat a banana too!” she said. “I had to wait, but I did it.”
This was true even for her remarkable Olympics campaign.
The fourth position definitely does not feel amazing but there is always a next time and certainly it is going to be there for me.” MANU BHAKER
INDIAN PISTOL SHOOTER