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Manu Bhaker had a dream Paris Olympics campaign. She not only overcame the hurdle she faced in Tokyo three years ago, but she also successfully brought home two bronze medals, one in the individual event and the other in the mixed team event. She could have bagged one more bronze to her name, but a fourth-place finish meant she missed out on the podium.
After winning a medal in the women's 10m air pistol event, fans were on cloud nine but Manu Bhaker was not. She had the mixed team event the next day and did not get carried away after winning India's first medal at the Paris Games.
She said in an interview with The Print:
"After the day of the individual finals, I kept my medal in the almirah and told myself that this medal isn’t going to help you do wonders in tomorrow’s match until you focus.”
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Manu Bhaker also spoke about how she manages pressure, being in the sport for almost a decade now, saying:
“I’ve had a career in shooting for the past eight and a half years, and before it, I was in different sports. By now I have understood how the life of an athlete works… or actually how the life of anybody would work.”
Manu Bhaker takes a break
Manu Bhaker capped off an excellent Paris Olympics campaign. She and recently retired Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh were named flagbearers for the Indian contingent in the closing ceremony of the quadrennial event as well. But now, she will be taking a well-deserved rest for three months.
She will again start participating in competitions after four or five months. However, she won't put a halt to the physical training that an athlete requires to keep themselves at peak fitness.
"We never have any off-season in our sport. The last time was during the COVID-19 pandemic… that’s when I was still doing some dry practice at home," she said in the same interview.
Manu Bhaker's next big aim will be to do better in the next Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028.
