JASPAL RANA, A CHAMPION shooter himself, is known to young sports fans as the coach of Manu Bhaker. The 48-year-old Asian Games gold medallist is a father figure to the Haryana ace, but their relationship has had its rocky patches. They had a public fallout before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and stopped talking to each other. It took a courageous phone call from Manu to reunite the duo. Rana speaks about that conversation and more in an interview with THE WEEK. Excerpts:
Q/ When did you first meet Manu Bhaker?
A/ It was maybe in 2016 or 2017. We had a lot of shooters from all over the country at the Tughlakabad shooting range [in Delhi]; she was one of them. For me they were just regular kids at the same level.
Q/ How did you find Manu as a person and as a shooter?
A/ We had many good shooters. Manu had [won at] the youth Olympics and Commonwealth Games in 2018. That is when she started shooting well and we trained further.
Q/ You did not want Manu to take part in the 25m pistol event in Tokyo; controversy then broke out. Would you please elaborate on what happened?
A/ Manu was only 18 at the time. She was doing well in [10m] air pistol and [10m] air pistol mixed event. She was good but three events were too much for her then. But, because of some dirty politics, she was told I was against her. I never knew that till the time she told me. I became the culprit for the entire national shooting team. Things went from bad to worse and we stopped talking.
Q/ How did you reunite?
この記事は THE WEEK India の December 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は THE WEEK India の December 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Forging the future
As the curtain falls on 2024, I take pride in the extraordinary milestones achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This year stands as a testament to the Modi government's resolve to forge a resilient and forward-looking Bharat. From groundbreaking advancements in infrastructure to visionary global initiatives, these efforts resonate deeply with the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Our strange democracy
Abraham Lincoln is lauded as among the very best presidents the US ever had: the statesman par excellence successfully steered the nation through the devastating and perilous years of the American civil war. Not only did Lincoln manage to keep his country united, he also ensured the passage of the 13th amendment to the US constitution, which abolished slavery.
Five years of post-pandemic fashion
It has been five years since we discovered what Covid-19 was, and five years since it disrupted the world forever. The World Health Organization activated their emergency systems on January 1, 2020, and informed the world by January 4, 2020. By the end of that week, they had set guidelines for various countries to follow. Comparable to the Spanish flu of 1918, more than 7 million people have died of Covid according to official data. Unofficially, no one has an idea. WHO has just this week asked China to provide critical data to understand the virus's origins as a “moral and scientific imperative”.
Community spirit
Rhythm of Dammam opens a window to the world of African-origin Siddis of Uttara Kannada
'Breaking' down a scandal
Society Girl is not just a case study of a high-profile death in Pakistan but also a stark commentary on media trials
Progress card
Jasmine Shah's book tells you what the AAP has achieved in Delhi in the last 10 years
SENSE IN NONSENSE
In his latest book of poetry, Ruskin Bond is at his funniest
Get ready for Trump bump
The ‘butterfly effect’ is a beautiful, mysterious metaphor of the planet’s interconnectedness.
QUIET FLOWS THE FAITH
The melding of an ancient amorphous faith and the latest science; of an antique tradition and new practices; ways of life older than memory and new expressions is happening at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.
Trash to treasure
How a weed-choked Dal Lake spurred Maninder Singh's journey to become a waste management visionary
