New Delhi: Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker is confident of putting aside a subdued 2025 and kickstarting the year with podium finishes at the Asian Championships starting at Delhi’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range on Monday (Feb 2-14). The 23-year-old, whose lone international success last year was a second place at the Lima World Cup, will compete in the 10m and 25m pistol events. It will be the first important meet for Manu in her build-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“It’s an important event as it’s the international season opener for us and it is being held at home. I want to do well in front of the home crowd. My preparations for LA began the moment the Paris Olympics ended,” Manu said in an interaction facilitated by FanCode that will stream the event.
This is a busy year, which will feature the Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya and the World Championships, besides World Cups. The Olympic qualification cycle will begin shortly after the Asiad, which means the shooters must maintain form and fitness through the season.
“Peaking is very important in a season like this. Scheduling is not in our control but performance is. We have our plans in place and we’ll go about it in a strategic, mindful way.”
Manu gave evidence of her form at the recent national trials, and as per the latest national rankings, lies second in both her events. Esha Singh tops the rankings in 25m and young Suruchi Phogat in 10m. With Rhythm Sangwan, Palak Gulia, Rahi Sarnobat and Simranpreet Kaur Brar also in the mix, the level of competition in the women’s pistol team is world class. Besides Manu, only Esha is in the top six of both the pistol events.
The depth of the field in the pistol events doesn’t faze Manu.
“It’s heartening to see the level of competition. If you compare the quantity and quality of shooters in 2016 when I started to now, there has been a sea change. There are so many young shooters around and the competition has simply shot up.
“There’s a very healthy and intense competition in the team but at the end of the day, shooting is an individual sport and my only challenger is me. I am my own competition.”
At the 2024 Paris Games, Manu claimed bronze in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events. She has started focusing on the 25m as well in the last two seasons.
This season will see Manu shoot with a new weapon, the Italian-made Pardini pistol, in the 25m event. It gives her better stability while firing. World body ISSF’s new stipulations on the pistol grip will come into effect this year and Manu is still getting used to the change.
“I am still trying it out and it seems better in terms of precision and balance. I feel if the equipment can improve your game even by one percent, you should go for it. That said, the results are always dependent on the shooter and not the weapon they are using.”
