Manu Bhaker (left) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi© X (Twitter)
On the occasion of National Sports Day, Indian Olympic medallist pistol shooter Manu Bhaker recalled her interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered her perspective on the inspiration he provides to athletes. Manu, 22, created history at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic edition after independence. She also became the first Indian woman to win a medal in an individual shooting event at the Games. Manu was just 16 when she met PM Modi after her gold medal win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games when she was just 16 and was taken aback by his genuine interest in her sporting career.
“During the conversation, he took me aside and said, 'You are very young. You will achieve even greater success and contact me when you need something.' This was a great source of motivation for me,” Manu recalled.
Following her harrowing campaign for the Tokyo Olympics, where she failed to win a medal due to a pistol malfunction, the Prime Minister offered her words of encouragement and discussed her future plans.
“Prime Minister Modi told me to be confident and focus on my goal. He closely monitors every detail of each player,” Manu said.
The pistol shooter believes that PM Modi’s approach goes beyond just celebrating victories; it focuses on supporting every sportsperson, irrespective of the outcome. By reaching out to sportspersons individually and taking time to discuss their concerns, he makes them feel valued and inspired.
After Manu bagged her first medal at the Paris Olympics by bagging the bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol, Prime Minister Modi caught the attention of the pistol shooter and congratulated her on the historic medal at the Paris Games.
She later won bronze in the mixed 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh and finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol event.
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