What were you doing at 19 years of age? Most probably in the phase of being obsessed with the opposite sex, preparing for school finals or possibly trying to figure out what you wanted to do in life. But the odds are what you were not doing was winning medals in shooting in India and being the best bet for a podium finish in the Olympics next year.
Yes, if you are Manu Bhaker, that is exactly what you are doing. She is 19, but already making a mark in the world of shooting. She is literally shooting us to glory and doing us proud on the big stage.?
Hailing from Jhajjar in Haryana, her father is in the Merchant Navy and she was a talent well ahead of her years which was evident right from the start. Till the age of 14, she was good at Huyen langlon, a Manipuri martial art along with boxing, tennis and skating.?
So where did the shooting inspiration come from? Here again family had a role to play. Her grandfather was a great shooter. He was a soldier and had seen action in the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. He encouraged Manu and slowly she developed a knack for shooting. She would practice 10 hours a day and was totally absorbed in the sport.?
Manu's father invested Rs 150,000 in her and she took up shooting at the top level. She showed the signs of her potential early on when she won silver at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. The same year she won 9 gold medals at the National Games. The highlight was that Manu overcame Heena Sidhu who had won several World Cup medals and broke her record of 240.8 points and scored 242.3 in the final. There was no doubt she was a star in the making, but it was only a sign of things to come.?
Seven World Cup golds, 2 Asian Championships and victory at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the span of one year made her from a potential talent into an overnight sensation. In addition to this she won gold at the Youth Olympics last year along with a silver as well. She is right now our best bet for a podium finish at the Olympics next year and could well go on to win gold.?
At 19, the journey is long for Manu. She will have tough times ahead and how she reacts and comes back shall determine her legacy as a shooter. But at the moment she is doing the right things and moving forward in the way she needs to. Manu without a doubt is the rising star in Indian shooting, actually she has risen and is shining brightly and making India proud on the international stage. ?????
Come the Tokyo Olympics, expect her to shine as this teenage sensation shoots for glory.