CHATEAUROUX: A rollercoaster. That's how Manu Bhaker described it later here on Saturday morning. Her bid for a historic third medal had ended in an agonizing finish. It must have left her feeling empty inside, but she did not show it. She has learnt not to show it. She was there, up there. And then she was not. A couple of poor shots, a couple of poor series – at the beginning and the end – and that was it. That's sport for you.
When it all started, Manu looked confident when she walked up to station G inside the 25m pistol women's final hall. The routine was the same, the rigour same. She set up her station, did some shadow shooting and was ready. Both hands in pocket, she waited.
The first series was a disaster. She was surely feeling the pressure. She shot 2/5 and found herself in the sixth position in the eight-woman field. A shrug of the shoulders, a fleeting look at her coach Jaspal Rana – sitting in the same seat in the stands when Manu won her first bronze – and she was back to the task. She was not giving up.
The second series brought her back. She was alive. 4/5 was just what she needed. She had jumped up to the fourth position. She shot another 4/5 in the third series and moved up to the second position. It was all falling into place.
The fourth series was an average 3/5 and Manu slid to the sixth place, just a shot below three above her. But she was very near elimination. Another poor round and it would be all over.
But no, that was not the script. She shot a perfect 5/5 to move towards safety and a possible medal. She was now third on 18 points, a point behind Hungary's Veronica Major and two behind South Korea's Yang Jin who went on to win the gold medal.
The elimination had started, and Manu was way clear. In the sixth series, she got a 4/5, missing her last shot. But she was back to second, trailing the Korean by two points. The Indians in the stands had started celebrating.
The seventh series was again a brilliant 4/5. She stayed in the second spot, now just a point separating her from Jin. The roar in the right corner of the stands was deafening. The India corner.
This is where the course changed. A 3/5 could have kept Manu in the hunt for a silver medal, maybe even a gold. With the last four standing, she failed to hold her nerve. 2/5 and Manu found herself in a shoot-off with Major, both now on 28 points.
One poor series and it had come to that. Fingers crossed.
In the shoot-off, Manu got the first two targets, missed the third and fourth and hit the last one. The Hungarian got four shots to win 4/3. Manu was out. She looked disappointed as she walked back to her corner and sat quietly, probably trying to figure out what went wrong.
But the Indian fans were still celebrating, chanting her name, clapping. They had travelled a long distance just to see her shoot, to back her, to show her love. The medal went missing in that single shot, but she was still a champion. A star was born at the shooting ranges here last Sunday. She shone bright the whole week.
Manu is just 22. Her journey from Tokyo 2021 to here has been a difficult one, full of sacrifices. She followed a rigid regimen, a strict diet, worked out hard in the gym and trained for hours and hours at the range. Pushed by her coach, she steeled herself to come out of a dark place and discover a new Manu.
Manu 2.0 has been a revelation. Very few who saw her crash badly in Tokyo were willing to back her. There were stories of indiscipline, all kinds of rumours. And to think she was just 19 then, mentally fragile, helpless. Alone. She went back to Rana and that changed her life. He held her hand, helped her heal and slowly moulded her into a tough cookie. She would crumble no more.
Manu Bhaker has come a long way, but her journey is incomplete. She wants more. India wants more.
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