CHENNAI: After her pathbreaking gold medal in the Asian Games on Tuesday, trap shooter Neeru Dhanda was naturally over the moon. Given that she almost missed the flight to Japan due to health issues just days ago, the victory tasted sweeter for her and people in her inner circle.
As she would later reveal to reporters after her win in Nagoya, Neeru barely had any preparations in the run-up to the Games as she was down with viral fever. Her chance of participation looked bleak at one stage but with the help of her coaches, medical staff and well-wishers, she never gave up.
One man who was integral in keeping her spirits intact was her coach Mansher Singh. As Neeru gunned down the clay targets aplomb to etch her name in history books, Mansher was a proud man. "It's a landmark result. It never happened, it's the first time, a result of this magnitude," Mansher remarked.
A champion shooter during his time, Mansher has been integral in her development for six years or so. He recalled the ordeal that his ward had been through. "I have been associated with her since the first day she started shooting. It was an unusual situation where you train for an event for so many months and then you get viral fever, eight days before the team is leaving and you miss the whole camp. Then I took a call to move her from the hostel to hospital for faster recovery. Within three days, the doctor gave us the clean chit for her to be discharged and she left the day after that," Mansher recalled.
"She went straight into the competition after one and a half days of practice. We're lucky it worked out well by God's grace."
Highlighting her determination, the four-time Olympian said that his ward was open to do anything in order to get well before the quadrennial event. "It was all about recovery then. Hydration and nutrition was key as we wanted her to feel better each new day. And the fever was very strong, the allergies were high, the congestion was very severe. On a daily basis, I was just monitoring and trying to motivate her and get her better by 10 per cent every day. And she took it very seriously, she worked hard and she agreed to go to the hospital, for me it was amazing that she was ready to do anything and everything to go to Japan," Mansher said.
When she finally managed to recover just in time to catch the Nagoya flight, Mansher revealed they had even managed to see the lighter side of things. Given the unusual circumstances, Mansher, who's India's high performance manager (shotgun), just wanted her to go to Japan and do what she does best.
"The moment she got on the plane we were laughing. She said 'I'm on the plane' and we had a big laugh. We never thought we would make the plane and miss the flight. So I told her 'since you made the flight, you have a bigger purpose, go with an open mind and take what result that comes. Just give your 100 per cent on every shot. Whatever the result comes, we'll accept it'. This was a very unusual preparation period that we had had. Zero training."
What she pulled off in the last three days is exceptional but it's not out of the blue. Under Mansher and other coaches' guidance, Neeru had been showing promising signs in the last one year or so.
After making some adjustments — both technical and mental approach — Neeru's output has constantly been on the up, producing some notable wins in the process. "By 2025, she started showing the results. The graph was coming and her confidence levels were going up, her scores were going. Her performance in the finals was amazing. We knew if she enters the final, she has a very good chance of winning a medal, if not gold. She proved yet again that once she gets into the final, she's a real fighter. God has given her that. I admire her for being so consistent and determined in the final.
"The final day might have caught the most attention but Neeru had been on the money since Sunday — the first day of qualification. After securing finals berth, Mansher was confident that she'll do well. He remarked about her resilience and grit, something that has made her a medal contender in recent times. "She was on the lead from Day 1 and went into the finals as No 1. She showed that once she gets into a good rhythm, she has the resilience and determination to not let go of her opportunity. From first target to the last target, it shows what level of mental confidence that she has. It should only do her good in the future." It's pretty clear that the two like to indulge in good banter. Mansher also likes to challenge her quite often. He has set the standards high and it's clear that both of them have sky-high aspirations. Having had a chat with her after the final, Mansher said that her gold has ensured that he'll be receiving her at the airport upon her return from Nagoya.
"She was just joking that now that 'I have won a gold medal, you have to come'. I had told her 'if she wins a silver or bronze, I won't come'. I just like to motivate her to only settle for gold and nothing else."
Laughs aside, the coach also has already set his eyes on Neeru's next big assignment — the upcoming World Championships, which will have Olympic quotas on the line. "She's very simple. She won't celebrate much. She will take rest for some time and then we'll sit down and gradually start bringing her back into shooting... She has a very big competition in November."
