Shooting
Tokyo Olympics: Shooter Manu Bhaker chokes when India needed her the most
Saurabh Chaudhary did all he could to keep India afloat, but Manu Bhaker's flop show meant that his efforts were never going to be enough.
The Mixed 10m Air Pistol event was supposed to be India's event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. India was supposed to win at least one medal in the event. The pair of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker had dominated the event over the past few years and this was their time to shine; this was India's time to assert their dominance in the world of shooting.
But, only that none of that happened when they took to the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo.
While the pair of Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal failed to qualify for the Qualification Stage 2 in the event, the duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker had topped the Qualification Stage 1.
They had finished at the number 1 spot in Stage 1, scoring 582 out of a possible 600. A medal was well within the sights, and it was just about carrying forward the momentum.
Only that, this did not happen either.
Instead, they ended up choking, Manu Bhaker more so, as India exited the failed to qualify for the medal matches and ended at the seventh spot in Mixed 10m Air Pistol.
The Qualification Stage 2 started off on a poor note for India with Saurabh scoring 96 in his first series, and Manu 92. While Saurabh recovered from this to score an impressive 98 in his second series, Manu failed to withstand the pressure and ended with a below-par 94.
To be brutally honest, Saurabh Chaudhary did all he could to keep India afloat, but Manu's flop show meant that his efforts were never going to be enough. In fact, Chaudhary's total of 194 was the joint third-highest in Qualification Stage 2.
Manu Bhaker had struggled in Qualification Stage 1 as well. After shooting a decent 97 in her first series, she had then fallen down to 94 and 95 in her next two series.
Speaking to The Bridge former Olympian and now shooting coach, Joydeep Karmakar, blasted out at Manu for her show today.
"I feel really bad for Saurabh, he did his best. But, Manu, how can she choke at this level? When it is required to shoot 10s, she is not even shooting 9s but lagging in 8s," Joydeep said.
The 41-year-old termed Manu's performance 'unacceptable,' and felt that the Indian shooters need to introspect.
"Manu's performance was just unacceptable. I think it is time for some introspection for the shooters. Yes, they are all talented, but still, I would say from the administration and the coaching department there needs to be some introspection and not go overboard about their confidence," he explained.
