Source Credit: NDTV
Double Olympic Medallist Manu Bhaker Opens Up On Coach Jaspal Rana's FutureFour-time Asian Games gold medallist Jaspal Rana had a fall-out with Manu before the Tokyo Olympics but they reconciled before last year's Paris Games, during which Manu made history by bagging two bronze medals. After recovering under Rana's personal guidance from a slump after the Tokyo Games, she became the first Indian since independence to win two medals in one edition of the Olympics. The on-the-go bronze medalist in both the 10-meter air pistol and the 10-meter air pistol mixed team events at Paris 2024 anyways made history now. But Rana's guidance would have been essential and Manu agrees.
However, despite Rana being roped in as the High Performance coach for pistol shooters by the NRAI, Manu still considers him her coach. "Honestly, I only have to say one thing that he (Rana) is my coach all I know and he is very good at what he does. He is very very talented and he has been a great coach for me. "All I know and all I can say is that he is my coach. Of course, he can be anyone else's coach as well but for me he is my coach," Manu said after winning the BBC Sportswomen of the Year 2024 award at a glittering function here on Monday night. For almost a decade, Rana worked as the National coach for juniors, establishing a solid foundation for Indian shooting.
After the Paris Olympics, Manu had a long break during which she worked on her injured elbow. Manu had also made her return to the competitive circuit at the National trials here earlier this month, where she finished second to Rhythm Sangwan but was satisfied with her performance. "It was a pretty decent comeback. I am really satisfied with what I have achieved in the trials," Manu said. Chatting about the future plans, she said: "We will be going for World Cups in April, and then we have some domestic events in June. It will be followed by another World Cup in Munich. Then we have World Championships, probably in late October or November. My target is the World Championships. I want to peak at the right time for the World Championships." The seasoning-ending World Championships will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from November 6 to November 16.
