Shooting is a lonely sport, even at the top. Fighting with your thoughts while trying to hit the bull’s eye is not as easy as it looks on the television screen.
You’re not allowed to even talk during the event. You need to ‘get into the zone’ a couple of hours before you walk into the range. It can be overwhelming. 22-year-old Manu Bhaker has learnt it after having spent close to 8 years in the sport. Having had a dramatic topsy-turvy ride in a young career, Manu is back, trying to have another shot at an Olympic medal.
‘Shooting is a mental sport. But, also, you do need to have a good physique, if you have to survive long term. You need to have a good posture to avoid injuries in the long run. Yes, mentally, it’s more challenging. The 90 minutes of a match and then you have to stay still and be within your thoughts. You are not allowed to speak, you are not allowed to interact with anybody, you are not even allowed to listen to music. It’s difficult to divert your mind in any way. It’s like you have to be within your thoughts,” a calm and composed Manu Bhaker told IndiaToday.in from the final training camp in Luxembourg.
“Two hours before the match, you try and get into your zone, not talk to anybody. So that kind of environment puts you in an uneasy position because so many thoughts come across. It’s like impossible to be able to control the mind, you have to train your mind and decide what kind of thoughts you want. If you have negative thoughts, you need to train your mind to replace them with positive thoughts,” she added while trying to solve a piece of puzzle on her table.
Puzzles and music are Manu Bhaker’s companions in Luxembourg, where the shooters are camped in the days leading up to the Paris Olympics. Manu has also been learning violin as a hobby over the last 12 months. However, the young shooter did not take her new violin to the Games. Manu was clear about not carrying any excess baggage to Paris. She already has enough!
At 19, Manu Bhaker had headed to the Tokyo Olympics as one of India’s brightest medal hopes. She headed to Tokyo as the World No. 1. But, Manu did not even qualify for the final of 10m air pistol, one of three events she participated in her maiden Games appearance. A pistol malfunction during the second of the six-series qualification derailed her momentum.
She shot 98 out of 100 in the first series, but during the second series, Manu and her team noticed the snag in her pistol. Manu was allowed to replace only the defective lever and not the entire pistol, leading to a six-minute loss. Manu did not throw in the towel but returned to the range and tried her best to catch up. From the second spot after the first series, Manu slipped to No. 12 at the end of the qualification round, missing a berth in the eight-woman final. The 10m air pistol episode did affect her performances in the 25m pistol and the mixed team event later on.
WHEN IT BECAME A ‘9 TO 5 JOB’
Manu returned empty-handed from Tokyo. The form dipped in the year following that. It was all too difficult for a 19-year-old, who was expected to end India’s nearly-decade-long wait for a shooting medal. Two years down the line, Manu contemplated giving up. Manu said she was no longer getting a kick out of it.
“In 2022 and 2023, the first six months, I felt like this has become a 9-5 job for me. And I do not like doing the same things, every day, all over again. It makes me feel bored. It just doesn’t give me the kick,” Manu Bhaker said.
“That was the time I felt ‘okay, I am still in the team, I am doing okay, but it’s not giving me any kind of joy and any kind of happiness’. I felt like that was the time I should give it a break and probably focus on my studies, go to a college, and study abroad for a while. I was really thinking about it,” she added.
A HAPPY REUNION WITH COACH JASPAL
But, it all changed when Manu Bhaker reunited with long-time coach — legendary Jaspal Rana, who mentored the young shooter during his stint as junior pistol coach. The two had a public fallout before the Tokyo Games. But they are back together to forge a winning combination after having overcome the differences in the past.
“But later on, when my coach Jaspal sir and I started to work again, I got the feeling again, ‘I want to do this in the long term. ‘ Not just one Olympics, but I am probably setting my sights on the next 10 years,” Manu said.
“The good thing is that we are back together. That’s all that I needed. He had this faith in me, that is refreshing. He has that kind of energy that motivates you.
“He is the kind of person who really emphasises your basics and your technique. He would want you to focus on strengthening them and not try and do different things for the sake of it. Firstly, he has known me for so many years — we worked for three years before this stint. Now, it’s one more year. So, it’s been a long time, he understands me well. He makes me comfortable, he makes me feel that I can do even better and I have the capacity to do better,” she added.
Having found her mojo back and winning form, Manu Bhaker is heading to Paris on the back of a record-breaking performance in the Olympic trials earlier in the year. Manu is only one of the four from the 21-member shooting contingent to have previous experience shooting at the Olympics. She is once again competing in as many as three events — the 10m air pistol, the 25m pistol and the 10m mixed team air pistol event.
TAKING LESSONS FROM TOKYO TO PARIS
At 22, Manu is one of the most experienced members of the team. While she is no longer overwhelmed by the sense of occasion at the Olympic Games, Manu said she doesn’t forget the Tokyo heartbreak — an episode that has taught her plenty of valuable lessons and helped shape her growth.
“When I started shooting, I never imagined I would go this far. It’s been 8-and-half years for me in this field. And I am grateful that I have stuck to it, going strong, still trying and not given up during the hard times.
“I do have Tokyo always in my mind. Sometimes in conscious thoughts, sometimes in the back of my head. I try and take out lessons, but sometimes I do feel bad also about how it all unfolded.
“It makes me unhappy, but I try to tell myself that it’s been a long time and I should just focus on the present and learn to live at the moment. Taking lessons from it is the best option that I have,” she added.
Manu Bhaker has headed to Paris with renewed dreams. While she has set long-term goals, the immediate one is to sing a redemption song in Paris. She doesn’t have her violin, but her pistols are locked and reloaded.