Pistol Queen Manu Bhaker Back With A Bang: Special Report

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Manu Bhaker returned to competitive shooting with immense confidence in the trials held by the National Rifle Association of India at the Karni Singh ranges. On Monday, the Paris Olympics superstar fired a score of 587 in precision and dueling phase in the sports pistol event.

She was streets ahead of Esha Singh and Simranpreet Kaur, though, in the final classification, Manu was third. What was most important, Manu was coming back to shooting matches in a tough field after six months. What happened in the finals is not as important as the raw scores.

As much as a shooter puts in preparation, to come out with consistency and fire big scores in training, trials are proof of being on top. Like the Olympic Selection Trials held last year before the Paris 2024 Olympics, the repeat trials being held again are important.

The last match before this which Manu shot was the sports pistol event at the Olympics where she finished fourth in Chateauroux. A break of over six months is very long. What will be more challenging, Manu, Esha and company will be shooting back-to-back trials from today onwards as well in air pistol and sports pistol at the Karni Singh ranges in Tughlakabad.

For many trolls who had castigated Manu Bhaker as she did different things in her life post success at the Olympics, her return to shooting is great. She was involved in multiple media interviews, felicitation functions, ramp walk and even adventure tourism in Dubai. What is emotional, she has again started working with Guru Dronacharya Jaspal Rana.

As usual, Jaspal Rana was circumspect when he spoke on her performance. "You don't forget shooting even if you are away for six months, so Manu has come back and shaken off the inertia. She has more trials to shoot as well. As far as I am concerned, she will get better and better. The big picture is consistency and how she shapes up for the Asian Games next year in Japan. I consider the Asian Games as very important," Jaspal Rana told MyKhel.

Manu had taken a mandatory break after the Olympics and also returned to academics as she took her Masters exams in Chandigarh. As a kid who is still just 22, she did different things which she had missed out in her shooting career. Now that the fun period is over and she is challenging herself again, the competition with a fresh lot will be interesting. Someone like Suruchi Phogat, who did well at the Nationals and also the National Games will also be part of trials in the immediate future. How Manu and the rest of the field fare will make for great viewing.

In previous interviews, Manu had said she her heart is in shooting and she will return to the sport. The long break has done her good as she is fresh and not burnt out, as was the case after the highs at the Olympics. As for trolls, she was even slammed for the Khel Ratna. What is defining, Manu has learnt to deal with a cycle of failure in Tokyo Olympics, historic highs in Paris Olympics and again go full throttle. The biggest picture is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.