Olympian Manu Bhaker: ‘Had seen fall in Tokyo… So I was not really scared of the (Paris) outcome’

She became India’s first athlete to win two medals at the Olympics in Paris but Manu Bhaker very nearly gave up the sport three years ago after the heartbreak she endured in Tokyo. It was the restlessness within that put her back in the hunt.

The twin bronze medal winner made this revelation at the Express Adda on Saturday, where she was the guest along with Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain. They were in conversation with Mihir Vasavda, Deputy Associate Editor, The Indian Express.

Manu, who won an individual bronze in 10m air pistol and followed it up with a mixed team podium finish along with Sarabjot Singh, said she faced many “hardships” after the Tokyo debacle, “doubted” her choices and even “thought of opting for a different career”.

“I had hardships also after that. I was really doubting my choices. I was actually thinking of opting for a different career path. But destiny is something…,” she said.

Asked what would have been an alternate option, she said: “Maybe something in the education field. Maybe MBA or something. I didn’t think about what exactly.”

Manu added that it was during a family vacation in Kerala’s Cherai that the fire within her to return to the shooting range rekindled. At the time, she was on a break from the sport. “I tried to take a break from shooting but what happened in Tokyo, I was so restless. I was like, I have to change this somehow. I was so confident,” the 22-year-old said.

However, the build-up to the Paris Olympics, she said, was far from ideal. “I lost a lot of competitions before heading to Paris. I was really doubtful because so many events I had participated in but results were the same – fourth, fifth, sixth place in each one of them,” she said. “Sometimes I got third place as well but I wasn’t able to win any competition before I was heading to Paris. But still I was very positive about it.”

“I was like, I’ll try my best and let’s see what will happen because I had seen the fall in Tokyo and what happened after that. So I was not really scared of the outcome,” she said.

Manu and Lovlina — whose Olympic fortunes have contrasted so far, Manu could not win a medal in Tokyo, where Lovlina won a bronze; Manu finished on podium this time while Lovlina couldn’t — have been two of the faces of the rising power of Indian women at the Olympics.

During the Adda, they spoke on a range of issues — from the importance of creating a safe environment for women athletes to impact of social media on their performances and mental health as well as recalling their personal journeys from remote villages to the Olympic podium (full transcript to be published later this month).

Lovlina, the reigning boxing world champion, said the outlook was slowly changing towards Olympic sports but admitted the country still wakes up to their events only during major events, or when the cricket season is off.

“Even in my childhood, we only knew about cricket. We don’t see other sports except during the Olympics or Asian Games,” she said. “But after Neeraj’s (javelin gold) medal, there was a change. Even when Mary Kom didi won her medal in 2012, there were changes. I started boxing after that. So these things trigger changes. Even Manu’s medals will inspire others. People then see hope in these sports.”

India’s Paris Olympics campaign was far from satisfactory, with the contingent of 100-plus athletes winning just six medals — one silver and five bronze. Vinesh Phogat reached the wrestling final in the 50kg category but was disqualified on the morning of her event after she weighed 100 grams over the permissible limit.

Both Manu and Lovlina called the moment “brutal”. “Sports teaches us how to deal with very different situations and it can be really brutal at times. But that is something that’ll make us really really strong going forward,” Manu said.

Lovlina said, “Even ours is a combat sport, weight categories matter. We aren’t allowed to play even if we are 100 or 50 grams overweight. But one thing in our sport is if we reach the final and we don’t give weight, we are still given a medal. They don’t disqualify us. We aren’t allowed to compete, but at least a medal is given.”

“So, I was hoping she would also be given a medal. I felt very bad for her. When a player works so hard… I know what a player goes through when they have to control weight. You don’t eat for 2-3 days, water intake is very limited. After doing all this, if you are faced with this result then you feel very bad. It’s tough to handle yourself. I could feel it,” she said.

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