A coach is someone who knows the player inside out. Suddenly, after two back-to-back medals for India’s Olympic legend Manu Bhaker, the interest in the sport has grown exponentially, and the fans want to know more about the star shooter. And who better than veteran shooting coach Deepali Deshpande, who worked with Manu in her formative years, to talk about her.
Deepali, who has trained almost every star Indian shooter on the roster, isn’t really surprised with the way Manu has gone on to perform at Paris Olympics 2024, and feels that she is good for another one. Talking exclusively to InsideSport, right after a medal from Sarabjot Singh and Manu, in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, Deepali made it clear, that these medals could help India secure a couple more.
Brace up For At Least Two More Medals at Paris Olympics
“What will happen now, with these two medals from Manu and Sarabjot, it will be a blessing for the other Indians in the fray who are yet to play their event,” Deepali said. These shooters are like a family, who travel together for major chunk of the year, and are around each other for most part. So, it is only given that they also start winning, taking a cue from Manu’s victory. In the next few days we could very well see at least two more medals coming our way, hopefully a better colour.
Manu Bhaker’s Pet Event, 25m Pistol Remains
Two medals in, and Manu still has a chance to pocket another medal in the women’s 25m pistol event, that’s her stronger suit. So what are her chances there? Well, it must be made clear, a lot depends on how she shoots on the day, but Deepali feels that Manu has the capability to deliver again. “Manu’s pet event is still left, and my hopes are only raise for a better medal. If you see, Sarabjot and Manu could have been in the final as well, but they couldn’t make it to the gold playoff, due a difference of only one point.
“Manu is a vastly improved shooter. We always saw her as a vastly talented girl, who would shoot excellently in the qualification stages, but then would sometimes falter in the finals. That is what we got to witness in Tokyo. But it is safe to say that Manu has gotten over that so-called phobia of the final. After the 2021 debacle, she started shooting well after sometime, but then her scores dropped. It is just so difficult to come back from that mindset, but she has done just that. Look at her two final events, she looked so calm. While shooting in both the finals she looked in her element and was focused only on one shot at a time. And that is what you want from a shooter,” Deepali concluded.
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