22-year-old Indian shooter Manu Bhaker has returned home after a successful Olympic campaign in Paris. Bhaker won a bronze medal in the mixed team event of 10m pistol and 10m air pistol with Sarabjot Singh respectively, becoming only the third Indian after independence to win two Olympic medals and the first to do so in the same edition. However, Bhaker will take a break from shooting for almost three months after the Olympics and that would mean missing the World Cup in October.
Bhaker’s coach Jaspal Rana, who has played a major role in her recovery after the Tokyo Olympics, was not sure about her participation. “I am not sure if she will be in the Shooting World Cup in October as she is taking a break for three months,” Rana told news agency PTI.
“It’s a normal break, he has been training for a long time,” Rana added. The Shooting World Cup will be held in New Delhi from October 13 to 18. After the break, Rana said he and Bhaker would put all their energies into the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in 2026.
Bhaker could have claimed three medals in Paris had it not been for a tight finish in the 25m pistol event, where he finished fourth. The Indian contingent had no fewer than six fourth-place finishes in Paris, while finishing with a total of six medals, the same number as at the 2012 London Olympics. While Neeraj Chopra was the only one to win a silver, there were five bronze medals, including two each for Bhaker (one with Sarabjot), Swapnil Kusale, the hockey team and Aman Sehrawat in wrestling.
Bhaker has become the centre of attention of the nation after making a brief trip back to India before flying back to Paris for the closing ceremony, where she was the flag bearer alongside PR Sreejesh, who played his last international match for India.
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