I need to work hard to manage my ranking, claims Manu Bhaker

I need to work hard to manage my ranking, claims Manu Bhaker

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Manu Bhaker revealed that she needs to work hard in order to maintain her ranking on the international stage as the youngster attempts to win an Olympic quota for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Bhaker agrees that Indian shooting is doing well as it topped the medal tally for the third World Cup in a row.

Manu Bhaker, still just 17, has quickly developed into one of India’s most consistent and reliable shooters on the international stage after impressing since the 2018 Gold Coast CWG in Australia. The 10m air pistol event specialist recently won the mixed 10m air pistol event at three successive International Shooting Sport Federation World Cups alongside fellow Indian teenager - Saurabh Chaudhary.

The Youth Olympic champion has enjoyed success in the group competition but faced some tough results in the individual event. However, Bhaker won an Olympic quota in Munich but missed out on a medal by a mere 0.1 point.

“I’ve always faced the pressure of performing, so maybe that is why things sometimes went down. But then Jaspal (Rana) Sir said, ‘I will get what I actually deserve and not what I want. It feels very good, but the quota is not on my name. It is for the country. I need to work hard to manage my ranking,” Bhaker was quoted as saying by Sportstar reporters.

Bhaker, who bagged the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Commonwealth Games and the Youth Olympic Games last year, heaped praise on the Indian shooting contingent filled with youngsters as they topped the medal tally for the third World Cup in a row.

“Yes, India has been very impressive in shooting in the last three World Cups. If you compare these performances with previous years, we hardly got any medals. But this time it has been completely different.

“As shooters, we always need to overcome everything — ups and downs and even happiness sometimes. There are things which are not in my hands. (It’s) destiny, I guess,” Bhaker said when asked about her performances in the 25m sports pistol event. “It is not something that I think about a lot now. Last year also I missed all my medals (by finishing on) the fourth or fifth rank. It was heartbreaking then, but now I think that I will get it when my fate hands it to me,” the 2018 Guadalajara gold medalist added.

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