The Art of Silence: Manu Bhaker’s Journey to the Zone
Imagine a world where the most breathtaking feats are not the ones that leave you gasping for air, but the ones that make you question whether anything has even happened at all. Welcome to the world of competitive shooting, where the execution is so subtle, so intricate that it deserves a place in the Louvre.
Manu Bhaker is on the firing line, her pistol aimed at her target with a precision that’s almost palpable. Her coach, Jaspal Rana, can’t even register the movement, let alone record it on his phone. "I could not believe it! I enjoyed that. I was smiling," Rana recalls, still grinning at the memory.
In this sport, beauty is not about the flashy, the loud, or the dramatic. It’s about the understated, the nuanced, and the controlled. A "beautiful shot" is one that goes unspotted, a feat that requires a level of discipline and focus that’s unmatched in most other sports.
Anish Bhanwala, another Indian shooter, aspires to achieve this level of smoothness. "I want to be that level smooth," he says, his eyes fixed on the target. Jason Turner, the USA’s pistol coach, echoes his sentiments. "You want to see no movement on the gun when the shot is fired. That’s what would make me go wow — no movement and seeing the person in control, emotions-wise and with consistency."
Manu Bhaker has come close to achieving this nirvana, and her two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics are a testament to her dedication and hard work. But what’s truly remarkable is the zone she’s entered, a state of complete control where emotions are in check, breath is steady, and the only sound is the pop of the trigger.
Rana, her coach, has been instrumental in helping her reach this level. "We sent a report to TOPS and SAI. People had a problem, but we stood by that. But the main thing was to come back to Luxembourg and train there. It helped that we were in the same time zone," he reveals.
The price of chasing this perfection is evident on Manu’s wrists, where the constant holding of the gun has left permanent marks. "Look at her hand! Kharab ho gaya hai. It won’t get better. Naasur hogaya hai (It’s become very sore) because there is no time for recovery. We practised six hours every day. And that mark will be permanent," Rana says, his voice tinged with pride.
As the euphoria of her historic week settles, Rana will sit with Manu and analyze where she lacked in Saturday’s final. "The 9s cost us, but it isn’t the end of the road," he says, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
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