Manu’s motivations: Usain Bolt’s autobiography, Bhagavad Gita, coach Jaspal Rana’s unique training methods

The opening act of this coming-of-age tale takes place in Granada.

In February this year, Manu Bhaker was in the medieval Spanish town for a shooting World Cup. The tournament was a mixed bag — in her individual event, the pistol shooter fetched a bronze medal. The mixed team event, though, didn’t go too well.

The Manu of old would’ve taken a shuttle back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day in her room ‘sulking’. “But (this time) I was like, ‘okay fine, next match!’” she told The Indian Express in an interview in May. “You can always live life, come on. And you can always make mistakes.”

She put on her best dress, wore fine boots and stepped out for a stroll around the narrow cobble-stoned lanes, past the majestic medieval castles and the imposing Alhambra. On a whim, she entered a cinema hall.

“The movie was in Spanish. I don’t know the language and there were no subtitles. So I sat there and was like, ‘ab shayad yeh isko yeh bol raha hai, phir isne yeh kahan shayad’… the entire movie I was simply guessing. Fun experience,” she said.

It was dark outside by the time Manu returned to the hotel, where she spent some time with her teammates ‘gossiping’. “Actually, I just listen to what everyone has to say,” she interjected.

After a while, she called it a day. “A very, very good birthday,” she smiles.

Manu turned 22 that day. Before sleeping, she made herself a promise: To banish the ‘sour’ memories of the Tokyo Olympics in Paris.

India’s Manu Bhaker celebrates with the Indian flag after winning the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol women’s final round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Chateauroux, France. (AP Photo)

On Sunday, she did just that.

The pistol shooter won India’s first medal of the Paris Olympics, a bronze in the 10m air pistol. In doing so, she ended India’s long wait for a shooting medal at the Olympics and also became the first Indian woman shooter to finish on the Games podium.

After the ‘nightmare’ in Tokyo, where she ended in tears after every event, Manu looked in different directions to reignite her love for shooting — and found it in books, scriptures and coach Jaspal Rana’s unconventional methods.

She even turned a believer. “I’ve become a lot more religious,” she said but quickly adding: “Kattar nahi but I do believe a lot now that there is some energy somewhere which is guiding and protecting us,” she said.

A person she calls her ‘guardian angel’, coach Rana, even nudged her into reading the Bhagavad Gita. The scriptures helped her in improving her decision-making. “Especially when I am on the firing line and nerves are taking over me. He gives me examples of what Krishna said to Arjuna during hard times. He’ll keep giving such examples,” Manu said.

Unlikely inspiration

At her lowest point, Manu — whose sport demands stillness — found motivation in a man who never stood still. He ran, and ran so fast that no one has been able to catch up even now — Usain Bolt.

When she buried herself in the Jamaican sprint star’s autobiography, Manu realised the trials and tribulations an athlete has to go through before standing on the Olympic podium.

“I noticed some things are common for every athlete. Mein still rehti hoon, woh speed mein rehte hai (I stay still, he deals in speed); sports are different… but journeys are the same,” she said.

The first common thread, she says, was the start of the match. Manu’s one shot takes more time than Bolt’s entire race, but dealing with nerves before the event was something she found relatable.

When she buried herself in the Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt’s autobiography, Manu realised the trials and tribulations an athlete has to go through before standing on the Olympic podium. (File)

“At the start, although his event is much shorter than ours… there are nerves; to control it is very difficult,” Manu said. “He talked about his nervousness before races, during a race and even after they are over. It was all very relatable. He talked about injuries, different phases of an athlete’s career. How his first Olympics were (eliminated in the first round in the 200m) and how he had a blast at his second Olympics!”

It gave Manu hope and pushed her to look at the Paris Olympics through a different prism. Then, after she patched up with Rana, a champion shooter himself back in the day, his unconventional training methods helped her improve the shot groupings.

Rana, Manu says, challenged her during training sessions when they worked on technical aspects. “For example, you keep a target, and if you score that much, then it’s fine. If not, for the deficit in points… Say the target is 582 and you score 578, you pay a fine in the currency of the country you are training in,” she said.

• Gita lessons help Manu Bhaker find redemption for Tokyo in Paris with a bronze
• How Manu Bhaker rediscovered her passion for shooting
• Manu Bhaker after winning Paris 2024 bronze: 'Just do what you’re meant to do’

The money collected as fine would be used for community service — either distribute it among the needy or make other kinds of donations. And the amount of fine would depend on the intensity of the session. Higher the intensity, higher the fine.

The end goal was to ensure Manu shot high scores under pressure. If Sunday was anything to go by, the tactic worked.

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