Bhaker embraces nature to stay strong

In an ideal world, teenage prodigy Manu Bhaker would be laying the finishing touches to her guns and goals. But things are far from ideal now. The coronavirus is wreaking havoc with every passing day and the year's biggest sporting spectacle -- Tokyo Olympics -- has been postponed to next year.

While the 18-year-old Bhaker had a foreboding thought about the Games considering how rapidly the pandemic was spreading across the world, the empty feeling of missing out on her maiden Olympics was very hard to digest. "Having competed in the Youth Olympics in 2018, I was really looking forward to the big one this year. Tokyo was supposed to be the culmination of all my hard work and success over the last three years," the pistol shooter told DH.

"It was heart-breaking when I heard that the Olympics was postponed to next year. I was really sad and couldn't get over that for weeks. But obviously, health is more important than anything else right now. I understood why the Olympics had to be postponed but to be missing out on a showpiece event when your form is good is disappointing."

The postponement of the Games has also helped the bubbly Bhaker devote more time for her hobbies, something which she couldn't while gunning down medals ever since she took up shooting seriously in 2017. The youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup (10M air pistol at Guadalajara in 2018), Bhaker is now busy horse riding, planting seeds in the fields, painting and doing yoga. The connection with nature, Bhaker feels, helps her maintain composure in these trying times.

"All the activities, competitions and camps have been stopped. Now it's time to try out all the hobbies which I couldn't during competition time. I'm just trying different things to keep myself occupied and remove the disappointment. I do train for 3-4 hours a day so that I don't lose touch with shooting but I'm a person who likes to do a lot of stuff. I couldn't since I took up shooting seriously because I would train for 10-12 hours a day but now this pandemic has allowed me to live life like a regular teenager!" the Haryanvi gushes.

Bhaker's initiation into shooting was sudden but her rise has been exponential. A jack of all trades -- Bhaker has won medals in athletics, boxing, skating, tennis and Manipuri martial art thang ta -- she first got a taste of shooting in 2016. Within a year she was knocking down targets like a seasoned sniper. At the 2017 National Championships in Kerala, she bagged nine gold medals, including a dominant win over ace pistol shooter Heena Sidhu with a new national record in the finals (242.3). She now owns six gold at World Cups, two gold at World Cup Finals, two gold at Asian Championships and one at Commonwealth Games.

Simply put, her rise has been phenomenal and her abundant natural talent is the talk in the ranges. Despite the early torrent of success, Bhaker, a political science student, has managed to keep her feet on the ground. Under the guidance of celebrated national coach Jaspal Rana, she's handling all the spotlight with equanimity.

"I don't really think about the fame and spotlight that has come at such a young age for me. People expect a lot from you when they love you. I'm just glad that people love me and expect a lot from me. Whatever competition I go, I only think about not letting my country down. I don't mind the pressure, in fact I love it. Pressure motivates me and gives me confidence," says Bhaker with the maturity that belies her age.

The coronavirus has forced all athletes to rejig their plans but Bhaker wants to take it one day at a time. "I don't really think about competitions too far ahead. I only plan for the next event that I am going to take part in. Let competitions resume, it's too early to talk about the Olympics next year."