Maintaining form and scores are tougher than securing a quota for the Olympics, feels Manu Bhaker
Manu Bhaker has said that according to her, maintaining the scores and a good form is “tougher” than getting a quota for the Olympics. The 17-year-old Indian shooter missed out on a bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in Munich but still managed to get a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Manu Bhaker had given the seventh quota place to Indian shooting after she finished fourth in the 10m air pistol category at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Munich last month. After getting a qualification into the sporting extravaganza to be held next year, Bhaker has mentioned that maintaining her form and the scores are important for her.
“I can’t exactly say that I am relieved but the difficult part surely lies ahead. I feel maintaining form and scores is tougher than securing a quota,” Bhaker told PTI.
Bhaker had a dream year in 2018 where she managed to bag gold medals in World Cup, Youth Olympics, and Commonwealth Games. In the Munich World Cup last month, a pistol malfunction resulted in her failing in the 25m air pistol event. The teenager has said that she could have done nothing about that.
“Malfunction was destiny, couldn’t have done much about that. I had to overcome that. I just tried to forget that and concentrated on my next event,” she said.
“The competition was the toughest in Munich with all the top athletes from the world competing for medals. That makes it more satisfying. Frankly speaking, I was not thinking about the quota at all this time. The thought only struck me when it was announced that the top five athletes remain.”
With the achievements on the bigger stages at such a young age, Bhaker is looking forward to continue shooting both in the 10m and 25m categories. She also said that there will not be a lot of changes in her training regime ahead of the Olympics next year.
“The aim is to maintain this position and then improve further. I will focus in both. There will be no major changes in my training regime.
“Pressure will always be there, my job is to not get bogged down by pressure. I do my meditation, yoga and they help me control my mind better,” Bhaker concluded.
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