PISTOL SHOOTING

We often hear a lot of talk about ‘margins’ when it comes to sports. One rowing boat beats another by a length. One horse beats another by a neck. A hockey ball misses its target by an inch.

At this level, then, shooting is a sport at a microscopic, almost quantum level. With such small distances involved, the slightest twitch or sway can send that 4.5mm pellet disastrously off course.

When building the perfect shooting position, all the aspects of the position have to be recognised – position of the feet, legs, torso, arms, hands, shoulders and head, as well as movements engaged in the lifting, sighting and triggering techniques. All these technical elements have one goal: maximum performance output, and mastering them all is no ordinary feat.

MANU BHAKER

Sixteen-year-old Manu Bhaker overcame a 1.4 point deficit on the last shot to win the Women’s 10m Air Pistol gold at the first International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage in Mexico’s Guadalajara on Sunday.

The feat is hard to believe as Bhaker, who comes from Jhajjar, Haryana, took to shooting just a little over two years ago. As things stand today, she has won two gold medals in her World Cup debut. Interestingly, Bhaker had tried her hand at other sports like boxing and martial arts before she eventually settled on shooting.

Manu Bhaker beat two-time world champion Alexandra Zavala, who’s from Mexico itself at the World Cup. Beating such an opponent would require colossal amounts of strength and patience as mental capability is one of the core requirements for pistol shooting.

Manu qualified for the World Cup in Guadalajara based on her rankings in 2017. She is now participating in the ISSF Junior World Cup Sydney right now. Manu has also qualified for the Commonwealth Games, Australia, which will commence in April. She will be in the country for just two days before leaving for Australia to take part in the tournaments.

Manu’s tryst with shooting began when her father took her to the range and asked her to try her hand at the sport. She fired a few shots that found the centre of the target and there was no looking back.
With an investment of 150000 ₹ from her father, Bhaker decided to take up competitive shooting. Bhaker first tasted success at the international level when she won the silver medal at the 2017 Asian Junior Championships. In the 2017 National games in Kerala, Bhaker defeated multiple World Cup medalist Heena Sidhu and broke Sidhu’s record of 240.8 points scoring 242.3 points in the final

Universal Senior Secondary School is the only place that has a shooting range in the Jhajjar district. “The shooting range at school is not of international standards and is very basic. However, Manu has learnt the art of shooting from this range only,” says Sumedha, her mother.

Manu attends Universal Senior Secondary School located in Goriya village and is presently awaiting her Class XI exam results. She has taken up science and wants to become a doctor. “Even though I am an international level shooter, I still want to become a doctor,” says Manu.

Following in the footsteps of Manu Bhaker, other kids want to replicate her spectacular shooting success. In the present scenario where male participation in sports is given much more attention than that of women, big winners like Manu bring a refreshing change to the trends of the sports industry.