Manu Bhaker is the shining star of Indian shooting, who has set the stage on fire with her performances in the Paris Olympics. At the age of twenty-one, she has been able to achieve a record that makes her one of the most decorated Olympic athletes from India by winning two bronze medals in the same Olympics.
Bhaker’s journey, though, did not begin with the Olympics but on a much smaller platform. Recently, on a Social media post, she posted a picture with her school friends practising shooting with a caption ‘How it started vs How it’s going’. Bhaker said that hard work and determination are key after the disappointment of Tokyo Olympics.
She said “My journey, coming from the Tokyo Olympics, it was very difficult for me to be confident again. I was world number two, but I did not do good in it. I know the taste of losing and then winning. It's the beauty of sports. One competition you lose, and you can win the other. But, it would only happen if you put in hard work.”
Bhaker's message to aspiring athletes is clear: pursue one’s dreams and ensure that one strives to make those dreams come true. ‘If you can dream big, you can achieve big,’ she said before advising people to always dream big. The young shooter also stressed the need to respect one’s culture, and to be proud of it.
Bhaker’s success story is not just a story of individual success, but of the triumph of will and people’s encouragement. “People assisted me to acquire various things,” she said, adding that one can consult a teacher or parents to acquire something new, or simply ask someone to teach.
While Manu Bhaker keeps on entertaining the nation through her performances, her journey automatically becomes a testimony about the possibilities of dreams and the strength of the human soul. Starting from the days of practising shooting with friends in a small town to being an Olympic medallist, Bhaker’s success story is one of the best examples for the budding sportsperson and dreamers.
