Manu Baker’s Olympic success becomes defining moment for India’s 2024 mass shootings

If you needed proof that Manu Baker is an extraordinary talent, she won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, a year in which success was as important as shooting narrowly missing out on a medal. I drew this. Shooting is all about individual glory, and Manu first reached the podium in the 10m air pistol, then teamed up with fellow lucky shooter Sarabjyot Singh to win his second bronze medal in the 10m mixed team and become India’s first. reached another level by winning the bronze medal. A female athlete who won two medals at the quadrennial exhibition.

With a record 21 shooters in Paris, India finally ended nearly a decade of lack of medals in the sport as Central Railway’s unassuming TTE Swapnil Kusale won three bronze medals. He made a comeback and finished the tournament in 3rd place in the 50 meter dash. Rifle 3 positions.

However, the spotlight was firmly on Manu, who was disappointed at the Tokyo Games three summers ago when his hopes ended due to a pistol malfunction.

Manu confidently stepped into the Châteauroux Mountains outside Paris and gave a performance worthy of a champion who ended his country’s medal drought.

The success was greeted with an outpouring of emotion for the champion and his coach Jaspal Rana, who had to go through nearly two years of trials and tribulations before achieving the glory.

Jaspal had to endure abuse and insults until he was told to stay away from the firing range as per the National Rifle Association of India’s SOP and was forced to lead his wards from the stands, which left the duo alone. In a sense, I was determined to tackle this issue. Head on in Paris.

Champion summed up her success in Paris by saying that Jaspal was like a father figure to her, giving her a lot of courage whenever she felt unsure of herself.

Their relationship seems to have come a long way since a misunderstanding separated them before the Tokyo Olympics, but with the 2028 Los Angeles Games coming up next, it could only mean more success for Manu.

A phenomenal year for Swapnil’s Sarabjyot

Sarabijot also achieved incredible success last year after being sidelined for more than six months due to injury. There was a time in Ambala’s young shooter’s career when he couldn’t even lift his pistol, let alone repeat it 60 times during a match.

But thanks to careful planning and rehabilitation, he bounced back from a career-threatening injury last March to join Manu as bronze medalist.

For Swapnil, it was an opportunity to give coach Deepali Deshpande a dream redemption. A former marksman choked with emotion as her protégé won the first-ever Olympic medal in the 50m rifle three positions.

Deepali, once part of the national establishment, became the scapegoat for the abysmal performance of Indian shooters at the Tokyo Olympics.

But Swapnil continued to believe in her and hired the veteran to re-emphasize the importance of a personal coach to success, something missing from national federations.

There are many near misses in Paris.

Manu, Sarabjyot and Swapnil were the main characters, while others like rifle shooter Arjun Babta and shotgun enthusiasts Maheshwari Chauhan and Ananth Jeet Singh Naruka finished fourth in Paris. It’s over, but it was heartbreaking as it promised a bright future for shooting sports.

Babuta missed out on the bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifle, while the mixed skeet team of Maheshwari and Naruka lost out to China after a tense showdown.

Manu also missed out on a historic hat-trick by finishing fourth in the women’s 25m sports pistol event with a heroic performance.

Olympic trials and litigation

Preparations for the Paris Olympics have been marred by the national federation’s Olympic Selection Trials (OST) selection issue, which became the center of litigation and dissatisfaction among top shooters.

The court petition questioned the OST standard of allowing only five shooters in each category. Several shooters who earned national spots but did not perform well in the OST asked the federation to reconsider its decision.

Shooters such as men’s 10m air rifle world champion Rudranksh Patil and women’s 10m air rifle representative Tillotama Sen did not participate, but Sandeep Singh and Ramita were chosen to replace them in the Paris-bound squad. .

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)