Double Olympic medal-winning shooter Bhaker plans to indulge in hobbies like horse riding, violin, Bharatnatyam and skating during three-month break; coach Jaspal Rana insists on rest for injured shooting arm
Manu Bhaker with horse ride (right) playing the violin
Her shooting hand bruised by repeated pistol recoils during unrelenting training, Manu Bhaker will take a well deserved three-month break. But it won’t be a vacation. The double Olympic medallist will continue her other routines including yoga and waking up at 6 am — which she hates. And she also plans to catch up on her hobbies — horse riding, skating, Bharatnatyam and violin practice to name a few. Bhaker, 22, who won bronze medals in the 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team (partnering Sarabjot Singh) was at PTI headquarters on Friday along with her coach and shooting great Jaspal Rana for an interaction.
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Proudly flaunting her medals, the vivacious youngster from Haryana’s Jhajjar spoke about her Paris preparations, how the Tokyo setback is nothing more than a distant memory now, and also her plans to indulge in everything that she put on hold for her Olympic dreams. “Now, I have some time off and I can probably do that [martial arts] again. I was unable to get that kind of time to invest in that [martial arts],” said Bhaker, a karate kid in her teens before a change of heart led her to shooting.
Manu Bhaker in skating mode (right) Manu Bhaker practising martial arts. Pics/Manu Bhaker Family collection
“Finally, I can take time off for my hobbies, and I have many, many hobbies. Horse riding... personally, I love horse riding, skating, I can still manage on the roads, then fitness, I really enjoy working out. Then, I have dance [as a hobby] also. I’m learning Bharatnatyam. I love the dance form. When I was training in France, I couldn’t get time and couldn’t cope up with the [Bharatnatyam] classes,” said Bhaker, whose trainer is from Tamil Nadu.
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As she kept revealing the details of her hobbies, coach Rana had a faint smile on his face and also shook his head in disapproval at the very mention of horse riding. “Skating and horse riding are things she should not be doing and she’ll be responsible for whatever happens. Who rides a horse thinking that they will fall?” he said
A bemused Bhaker, not going to back down easily, replied: “I have been learning horse riding for some time now. I was waiting to get back to horse riding after the Olympics. I want to do so many other things, like skydiving, scuba diving. I’ve waited so long,” added Bhaker, inviting another shake of the head from Rana, who believes the break was to only ensure that the youngster’s shooting hand is back to full fitness.
Coach Jaspal Rana
“This [pointing to her injured hand] is the reason we are making her rest for three months. Because this [injury] has been there for the last eight months and it has not healed. So rest is mandatory for the hand, and we had decided much before the World Cup [Final was awarded to New Delhi],” added Rana. Bhaker had played the national anthem on a violin, gifted to her by her brother, and after her Paris win, this video went viral. “Yes, I managed to play something on the violin, but I’m only into the basics,” she concluded.
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