She Cannot Be A 'Normal Girl' Again: Coach Jaspal Rana On 'Arjun' Manu Bhaker After Olympics 2024 Heroics

Manu Bhaker's glorious run at the Paris Olympics 2024 has made the 22-year-old shooter from Haryana a household name in India. Manu is first Indian female shooter to win a medal at the Olympics. Jaspal Rana, a champion shooter himself during his playing days, was a big factor in shaping Manu's career. Rana was present in the stands when Manu won two bronze medals at the Paris Games to make history. (Paris Olympics 2024 medals tally)

Manu had the chance of adding a third medal to her haul from the Paris Games, but fell short as she finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol event. Rana talked to NDTV after Manu's event ended and explained how he guided Manu Achieve great heights.     

"I don't take that credit (of being the biggest factor behind Manu's win). There are many people involved. Everybody helped in their own way - the SAI, the government, the TOPs," Jaspal Rana told NDTV. 

"Manu was ready without me also. We train that way also. She was trained in a way that even if I am not there in the field of play, it does not matter. We saw those trials in Bhopal. I had the rights to sit with her but I did not. I sat with the public. You can check the footage. I did not involve myself in the entire trials. But this is a bigger event. A kid sometimes needs a little push. Luckily I was part of it. Me being here is totally be cause of PT Usha ma'am." 

Rana also said that more than the 'technique' of shooting good scores, it the mental aspect that he worked on with Manu. 

"You can't teach them how to shoot. They are next generation. They are better software. Teaching them is not a problem. We just need to fine tune. When you train a lot, you make small mistakes which matter a lot in the long run. We have to be careful about