How Coach Jaspal Rana’s Fines to ‘Feed the Needy’ for Mistakes in Training Helped Manu Bhaker Win Bronze at Paris Olympics
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Paris Olympics: India’s Manu Bhaker during the 10m women’s air pistol final (AP)
Manu Bhaker bagged bronze medal in the final of the 10m women’s air pistol event but the medal was not without its share of toil.
Manu Bhaker won a historic bronze in the 10-m air pistol event in the Paris Olympics 2024, becoming India’s first woman shooter to win an Olympic medal. And in a country where Olympic medals are extremely hard to come by, Bhaker had to follow a relentless routine prepared by her hard taskmaster coach Jaspal Rana in preparation for her second Olympics.
Whether she was training in Luxembourg or Dehradun, Rana had kept clear-cut targets for Bhaker even for a regular session. In the event of failing to shoot the score decided by Rana, Bhaker would pay fines which were then used to help the needy around the world.
“His working method is very different from the rest of the people. Usually he sets a goal and if you score that much, then it’s okay.
“And if you don’t score that much, then the points that were less in that score, let us say we decided to score 582 and I scored 578. So those four points will amount to 40 Euros and sometimes 400 Euros depending on the situation and country. You have to donate that much,” said Bhaker.
More details of their mutual agreement was revealed by Rana who was naturally emotional given the enormity of the occasion.
“I remember once in Dehradun, she bought jaggery worth thousands of rupees to feed to cows. The money would also be used to feed beggars around the world.
“More recently, we were in Luxembourg and she ended up giving 40 Euros to performers in a restaurant. They too were left surprised by that gesture,” recalled Rana.
Having finally broken the barrier, Bhaker is in no mood to relax. She senses a medal in women’s 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events.
“She went beyond limits to prepare for this Olympics. There is more to come from her,” concluded Rana.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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