Manu Bhaker's Paris Olympics campaign came to an end after she finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol event and missed out on a medal by the barest of margins. However, the result in the women's 25m pistol category is not going to define the 22-year-old's campaign in Paris.
Manu brought laurels to the nation by becoming the first Indian since independence to win two medals in a single edition at the Olympics. She led India's charge at the major event and played an instrumental role in ensuring that India had a presence on the medal tally.
Though Manu deserves the credit for her success, a major chunk of the credit also goes to her coach and mentor Jaspal Rana who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help his protege scale such huge milestones. Veteran sports journalist Samip Rajguru caught up with Rana after Manu's fourth-place finish in the women's 25m pistol and the latter revealed that Manu's success at the Paris Olympics is a result of the fiasco that she suffered at the Tokyo Olympics.
Notably, Manu had encountered a pistol malfunction during the women's 10m air pistol qualification round at the Tokyo Olympics and the technical snag cost her dearly.
"The fiasco at the Tokyo Olympics ignited a fire in Manu and the outcome that we have witnessed at the Paris Olympics is a result of the same," Rana told India TV.
Rana also revealed that he refers to the Bhagwad Gita for finding the toughest questions that life throws at him.
"Definitely I am a spiritual guy. I feel that regardless of how hard you work on an individual's skill set, if he or she is not honest about the craft then the hard work is not going to translate into productive results.
"Bhagwad Gita has all the answers to your problems. I refer to the holy book to find answers to the toughest questions that life throws at me," he added.
Rana believes that the challenge for Manu going ahead will be enormous and her success in the future will depend on the drive that she has.
"Manu's journey at the Paris Olympics has been highly successful. Manu has helped India produce its best in shooting at the Summer Games. I am happy to be a part of her journey. But the most important part is to move on from here in the right direction as what unfolded here is a part of history now. The preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics starts now.
"The real challenge for Manu starts now. She has won an Olympic medal and now needs to keep her drive going to win the country more medals in the future," she concluded.
