Bhagwad Gita To 400 Euro Fines: Manu Bhaker's Journey To Olympics Medal

An elite athlete gets to bite an Olympic medal after years of blood and sweat and it was no different for 22-year-old Manu Bhaker, who relied on the teachings of Bhagwat Gita to fulfil a long-cherished dream. The first Indian woman to win a shooting medal at the Summer Games, the Jhajjar-born was rated highly ever since she burst on the scene with the gold in the 10m air pistol at the 2018 Youth Olympics. Umpteen medals followed on the international stage but the ultimate prize eluded her. After the heartbreak of her first Olympics in Tokyo, where she ended up in tears, Bhaker finally realised her dream with a bronze in the 10m air pistol event here on Sunday.

In a country where Olympic medals are extremely hard to come by, bronze feels as good as gold and Bhaker had to follow a relentless routine prepared by her hard taskmaster coach Jaspal Rana in preparation for her second Olympics.

Reading Gita was guiding force for Bhaker

Harsh lessons from her maiden Olympics coupled with intense training methods around the world proved to be invaluable. For mental preparation, she started reading the Bhagwat Gita after the Tokyo setback and is now a firm believer in karma.

"I have become religious after Tokyo but not in an extreme way (laughs). I believe that there is an energy that guides us and protects us. And there is an aura around us that feeds on that energy. I think there should be some faith in God who has created us." Bhaker was remembering the lines from Gita in a high-pressure final that saw athletes being eliminated from 12 to 22 shots, with the last two shots deciding the silver and gold medallist.

"The most famous quote in Gita is don't worry about the results, just keep working diligently. So the same was going