Chasing The Dream

Manu feels it's incredible that she did not give up after Tokyo as she looks ahead to LA

- Haridey Pushnarai

Manu Bhaker is currently the toast of the nation with her stupendous exploits at the Paris Olympics but the celebrated shooter is aiming for gold as far as LA 2028 is concerned.

After a lot of waiting and follow-ups, the double Olympic medallist sat down to share her thoughts in an exclusive virtual interview with The Free Press Journal from the Vivanta, Faridabad. Taj Excerpts..

Q: How does it feel to be a double Olympic medallist in a single Olympics and the first female Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal?..

"I feel really, really good. We were also prepared, we were looking forward to the medals at the Olympic Games, my coach Jaspal Rana and myself.

We were very well prepared. Everything was addressed in the training sessions. Mental health, physical health, technically we were very sound. So, we were definitely hoping for a medal but how many medals and what the colour of the medal would be, these factors we did not think about.

Now, I'm happy that I have two bronze medals and one fourth-place finish. I will try to work harder in the future.

Q: You recently put up an Instagram post about your much younger self and how things are now. You feel life has come a full circle for you now?

It feels incredible that I've come so far in my journey and I didn't give up in my low phases. Even when I was struggling I was trying my best to survive and try and go at the same pace. At times, it was difficult for me to maintain the same level of training and performance. But now that I've come so far, it feels incredible that I did not give up in my journey. I was consistent with my performances and put in a lot of hard work.

Q: What do you think went right for you in Paris and what were the learnings from Tokyo?..