Standing tall among the Olympians

From humble beginnings in Hassan, javelin-thrower Manu D P is now ranked 12th globally and has become one to watch

Peering out of the sunroof of a car, Manu D P waves to the crowd of 60-70 people gathered at Belur’s main circle in Hassan district. Such a parade for their hero is usually accompanied by garlands and loud peppy music, making it a celebration.

No, Manu is neither a movie star nor a politician.

And yet, this is the 'welcome back' ritual planned by the locals every time the athlete visits home after breaking records and winning medals.

The 23-year-old is one of the six Indian javelin throwers to have breached the 80-metre mark in recent times.

“Yeah, it feels great to receive such love and attention from your people. It gets so overwhelming that sometimes I do not tell anybody that I am coming home so there is no hoopla around me,” he says, almost shyly.

Manu, hitting the 84.14m mark, finished a credible sixth at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in September 2023. It was also a competition where Olympic champ Neeraj Chopra picked up gold (88.17m) and Kishore Jena (84.77m) was fifth. Three Indians in an eight-man final of the most important tournament in athletics’ yearly calendar was nothing short of historic.

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With a personal best of 84.35m, the 6.2-foot-tall Manu's journey of going head-to-head with the best in the world, however, began rather by chance.

The beginnings

“It happened in grade 10 at the Hoysala High School in Belur. One day, our PT sir called four of us who were regular in sports. He gave a shot put, a hammer (throw), and a discus to the other three. Since I was a bit taller and leaner than the rest, sir handed me a javelin made of bamboo,” he reminisces.

With 15 days to learn whatever he could of the sport, Manu, 16-year-old then, won gold with a 36m throw at the taluk-level meet. Tasting success in his first-ever event made the youngster from Nagenahalli Kuppagodu, a village about 12 km from Belur, fall in love with the javelin.

Learning the tricks of the trade on his own became a daily routine and Manu says he used a metal haare/ sabal (digging bar) as a javelin while practising. Manu’s father Prakash recalls how he used to practice at their gadde (fields) at this time. “When he told me about the javelin, I realised that the tool had remarkable similarities,” he says.

The cost of the javelin was prohibitive — ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh — and encouraged Manu to look for alternatives like the sabal. “This is also one reason why javelin throwing does not have many takers in India,” Manu says.

Throwing the sabal made “my shoulders strong and flexible. It sounds like a stupid thing to do. But it helped,” he explains.

The raw talent found professional moulding after joining Alva’s College, Moodbidri for his undergraduate course, where he was provided admission and a scholarship, based on his sporting talent.

While representing Alva’s at the 2018 Khelo India Games in Pune, where a 67m throw fetched him gold, Army coach and Commonwealth Games medallist Kashinath Naik spotted Manu and took him under his wings at the Army Institute, Pune.

“There are certain things we look for in an athlete. He fit the physical requirements but also had the speed, explosive strength and coordination,” says Naik.

At the Khelo Games, Naik observed him for four days.

Though he was talented, the ‘angle of release’ had problems. Within four days of trial-based training, under Naik’s guidance, the athlete improved his mark from 65m to 70m.

Credit: DH Photo/S K DINESH

The journey to the Olympics had begun, but for Manu the training atmosphere was alienating.

“I did not know a word of Hindi. I could only converse with the coach. I was so lonely that I kept wanting to return home immediately,” he says.

Additionally, Manu recalls how he had little to no sports equipment — he had only one pair of shoes. “It was Kashinath sir who brought me his shoes to practice in,” he adds.

With some words of motivation, Manu persevered for a year in training. “I won a medal in another national-level competition and following that I was granted a job as a havildar in the Indian Army,” reminesis Manu.

“It has been quite a ride so far,” says Manu and his father Prakash attests to this. While he was initially hesitant about his son’s career in sports, witnessing his meteoric rise inspired pride and gratitude. “He used to assure me by telling me that he would achieve something,” Prakash recalls.

Prakash had taken out several loans when his son needed to travel for competitions. “Incrementally these travel expenses were too much for me to bear. We cultivate coffee on 2.5 acres of land,” he says. Now, seeing the village rally around his son’s achievements seems like the fruit of these efforts.

Arun Murthy, a resident of Kuppagodu who organises reception ceremonies for Manu, says, “He has achieved something out of a lot of poverty, to see his rise has been nothing short of amazing.” Murthy says today Manu has become an inspiration in a village that hasn’t seen such sportsmanship. “He has the age and the time to make his mark and we are confident that he will bring a good name to the village.”

All this and more awaits Manu in 2024. He is currently ranked 12th in the world and based on the ranking system of the top 32 making the cut, he has technically already qualified for the Paris Olympics.

“My goal is to get a medal for India. I want to represent my country, I want to be known as one of the best javelin throwers,” he offers.

Credit: DH Photo/S K DINESH

Manu has his eyes firmly set on the 85m mark - the automatic qualification standard - in the coming months. “What impressed me about Manu was his willingness to learn and work hard. Anybody can have talent, but not too many are ready to go through the grind to get better," says Naik.

The coach adds that Manu is one of the top players among many who are training to be javelin throwers. “In the past, Finland used to have so many players who breached the 80m mark. India has become that today and the sport will soon be the country's strength, like cricket,” says Naik. Given his trajectory, his potential and his youth, the coach hopes Manu will breach the 90 m mark in his career as an athlete someday.

His senior Neeraj has pinned his hopes on the Karnataka lad joining him and Jena at the Paris Olympics. “My dream is to see Indians occupying all three positions on the podium. That will be great,” he had shared in one of the interviews recently.

Ambitious much? Oh but, who is it coming from?! One can only imagine the kind of 'welcome back' awaiting Manu if that becomes a reality. Grandiose!