NAGOYA: It's still early days but Indian shooters have won seven medals for India so far in the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya. Manu Bhaker, who's perhaps the biggest name in the sport at present in the country, had the chance to add to the tally on Wednesday, but she missed out on a podium in a tame fashion. Following this setback, Manu was visibly shaken. Given what she has experienced in recent times, on and off the range, the day's outcome — a fifth-place finish in women's 10m air pistol — was a painful experience. So painful that she couldn't help but shed tears.
The fact that her compatriots — Esha Singh and Suruchi Singh — had also struggled did not help her case. Ronak Pandit, India high performance manager (pistol), didn't mince his words when giving his thoughts on the performance, terming it to be 'shocking'. "The scores were shocking and I do not know what happened. It should have been better. There no excuse because we have done whatever needs to be done." Despite that, Manu had fetched enough points to cross the qualifying hurdle. Her nerves betrayed her in the final as she returned with some below-par scores, most notably her eighth shot (score of 8.9), and that proved to be her undoing. Given her giant reputation, she clearly felt she let down those rooting for her.
"I genuinely tried my best and really feel that my performance was significantly better than what I have been facing, the challenges I've been facing in my training in Japan," Manu told reporters here.
"I feel really sorry that I was not able to make it to the podium and I really hope that I will be able to do better," she added.
The Haryana shooter felt she was taking the right steps but her untimely low scores disturbed her rhythm. "So, I was just really focussed on the entire process today. My process was the number one thing and I was able to do that in qualification and also in the finals. Most of the shots I was able to do exactly how I had planned, how my process is. However, my few shots were not so good."
This was the first major competition where Manu was operating without her long-time coach Jaspal Rana, who passed away recently. Jaspal was not just a coach but was like a father figure for her. When asked if she missed his presence, she said, "Of course, he was like the Asian champion. He was the best of the best. When it came to the Asian Games, I think he was like the undisputed champion."
When asked if she could recall his words of encouragement, she said, "Yes, I do remember (...). It just stays with you. When a person has been a big part of your life, it just stays. It's very natural and all the things that I remember, most of which is the process."
"He was just so adamant on the process always that you have to be able to, any given day, any given point in your life, you have to be able to, whenever you shoot, you have to be able to give your best performance and follow your process. That and just a few more things that life is just very unpredictable. So, live your fullest, be kind and everything."
