CHATEAUROUX: Jaspal Rana did not have an accreditation that allowed him access to the Field of Play (FoP).
He did not get the accreditation for a national coach because he was a personal. However, it is understood that he got the accreditation after Manu Bhaker requested the IOA.
He was sitting among the audience but visible to Manu Bhaker. His presence is crucial because he gives her courage. “A look gives me courage,” she said after the bronze at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Sunday. Communication was through the eyes. There is a special bonding and the medium is the empty air. “If you believe in someone you just don’t need to talk,” he said. “That happens with any coach and a ward I think.”
Manu started well. At one point, she was second. The final score too seemed tantalisingly close. Just one point led to Manu’s elimination. South Koreans were one, two. Oh Ye Jin won gold with an Olympic record of 243.2 while Kim Yeji settled for silver scoring 241.3. When Manu won the bronze, Jaspal got up from his seat and quietly left the hall. “My job was done so I left,” he would say later.
It was not all Hunky Dory for Jaspal and Manu. Like Manu, he too suffered after the Tokyo Games. It was only last year the two came together. It was not easy for both, but they did manage to put that phase behind and look forward. That changed everything. He was not among the favourite coaches in the National Rifle Association of India.
When Manu won it was cathartic. It is perhaps the moment Jaspal was waiting for. Not for anything, but the way things unfolded after Tokyo, he was left alone, castigated and almost broken. This is his redemption time. He has silenced those who had questioned him after Tokyo. He has answered them in the most fitting way - through results, a bronze at the Olympics. He did not want to brood over spilt milk though he has made references here and there. He did not want the moment of Manu to be diluted. There were people trying to pit one against the other but for Manu, it was Jaspal’s training methods that suited her.
Jaspal took positives from the setback during their journey. He believes that those controversial moments and tough times have made Manu more resilient. “Those big things trained her to be stronger and helped her to mature,” he said. Though Manu credits her coach for the medal, Jaspal believes he has played a small role. And as a coach he was just doing what he loves to do – training. “I have been doing this for the last 12 years. Then also I gave my 100% and even now I am doing the same. It was good enough that I had time only for her,” he said. Coaching is his passion and it was never about making money. “It's not a money-making academy (in Dehradun).” Jaspal also said that it depends on Manu whether he would continue further. “If I am needed, I will be there, if not then I will not be there. It never ends.”
The next competition, 25m pistol individual qualification and the mixed 10m air pistol qualification and final are scheduled for Monday. The two will now sit down and plan their next competition. “You have to be ready for the next competition. No matter even if she wins multiple medals or even gold for that matter. If the country needs to win the next Olympics and if we are thinking about the 2036 Olympics in India, we should be ready to win a lot of medals. Because hosting the Olympics and not getting medals is not good. I don’t have a degree for coaching. I was not good enough for the NRAI to select me for national coach last time. So I don’t know what is actually required.”
One over, two more to follow. She will pair with Sarabjot Singh in mixed 10m air pistol Monday and then the 25m pistol round begins later.