Jhajjar: Manu Bhaker’s family ecstatic at her shot to Olympic fame
Ravinder Saini
Jhajjar, July 28
The moment shooter Manu Bhaker entered the top three in the 10-metre air pistol event in Paris Olympics today, her grandmother, uncle, aunt and other family members, who were watching the proceedings live, at the ancestral house in Goriya village of the district broke into thunderous applause.
The family was so confident about Manu winning a medal that they had already made the arrangement for laddoos in advance. Manu’s parents, who currently reside in Faridabad, visit the village regularly due to her practice.
When The Tribune team visited her house in Goriya village today, her family members were glued to the TV. They would cheer the shooter by clapping as soon as she hit a good shot.
“Manu could not win a medal in the Tokyo Olympics as her pistol malfunctioned. She would have definitely made the country proud in the last games, had it not been for her pistol,” said an elated Baljeet Singh, Manu’s uncle.
Mahendra Singh Bhaker, another uncle of the shooter, said: “Manu is a golden girl. We are hopeful that she will prove this by clinching gold in her next two events. However, winning a bronze in the Olympics is also a great achievement.”
Manu’s grandmother Daya Kaur said she was glad by the medal-winning performance of her granddaughter. “I am elated to watch Manu at the podium. She has fulfilled not only hers, but also everyone’s dream in the family. I will gift her my gold ornaments as soon as she returns from Paris,” she added.
Meanwhile, Ram Kishan Bhaker, proud father of Manu, reacted “This is just the beginning. Manu has two more events in the coming days and I hope that she will perform brilliantly in both the events and win medals for the country.”
He added that Manu’s success was the result of the love and blessings of the countrymen as well as the support extended by the shooting federation and others.
“A large number of youth from Haryana practise shooting at various places. Manu’s achievement will not only boost their morale, but also raise the popularity of the game in the state. Besides shooting, Manu has also played karate, skating and boxing in her childhood. She also won medals at the state and national level in all these games. Since shooting is a more transparent game than others, perhaps that is why Manu has been playing this game for a long time,” said Ram Kishan.
Her struggle for licence 7 years ago
Olympic Bronze medalist Manu Bhaker had to struggle for over two months to get a licence for her pistol from Jhajjar district administration over seven years ago. At that time, she had to go abroad to participate in an international shooting championship. Manu’s father Ram Kishan Bhaker also tweeted the CMO and the then Sports Minister. The case was also highlighted by the media. After more than two months, finally their efforts bore fruit and the young shooter succeeded in getting the licence.
Rs 4,500 her first cash award
Manu got Rs 4,500 as her first cash award for winning gold in the shooting championship held in Mahendragarh in 2016. She won the medal just after 15 days of practice. Her mother Sumedha Bhaker, a housewife, said Manu kept this cash award safely for a long time. Manus’ father Ram Kishan Bhaker is a marine engineer, his brother is pursuing LLB. To assist Manu, her mother had to leave the job of school principal.
Manu started shooting in 2016
Manu started pistol shooting in April 2016 at her Universal Senior Secondary School in her Goriya village, where a manual shooting range has been established. In her first national games in 2016, she won a gold in the team event, but she created a record by clinching 15 medals, including 11 gold, in the national games held in Kerala in 2017. The rest is history.
