Olympic Sports Shooting

Manu Bhakerand SarabjotSingh in mixed bronze medal match, success story involves two Ranas

July 29, 2024
S Kannan
Photograph taken of both the shooters by Abhijit Deshmukh 

S.Kannan in Paris

Manu Bhaker hardly got time to celebrate her historic bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol at the Paris Olympics. After a long Sunday, to be back at the range on Monday with Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed team event was tough. Yet, the duo from Haryana shot well enough to make the cut for the bronze-medal match on Tuesday, as they aggregated 580 points. Manu shot 291, with 12 pellets piercing the inner ring and Sarabjot 289.

“It was a nice match, slightly up and down but to be in another final, it’s nice,” Manu told  RevSportz on Monday. Coach Jaspal Rana said he would ensure his ward got enough rest before the match on Tuesday, where Manu and Sarabjot will take on a pair from the Republic of Korea.

Manu’s story is wonderful but Sarabjot deserves praise as well. On Saturday, in the men’s 10m air pistol, he looked good before failing to make the final. But then, he and Manu have a great understanding.

If Jaspal is coach for Manu, then Abhishek Rana has prepared Sarabjot since 2016. The young Sikh comes from a farming family. Abhishek runs an academy in Ambala in Haryana and has groomed Sarabjot.

This is a great story of two personal coaches training athletes in pistol shooting. Long back, in 2012, Abhishek was a junior shooter who represented India. Even now, like Jaspal, he made it to the range in Chateauroux courtesy a recommendation from PT Usha’s Indian Olympic Association (IOA) office. Like Jaspal, Abhishek also spent time with Sarabjot at the ranges in Luxembourg before heading to France.

Jaspal keeps making Abhishek walk almost 5km a day in and around their apartment as he has put on weight. That is the camaraderie among the personal coaches. Abhishek was in the limelight last year, when Sarabjot did well in the Asian Games.

The young and lanky Sarabjot is very focused. He even got praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi after theAsian Games. More important, Manu and he have understood the nuances of the mixed-team event.

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When Sarabjot missed qualification in the individual event, there was enormous support for him. Gagan Narang, the chef de mission, pointed out that this was a heartbreak that he could regroup from.

Till Tuesday, fingers crossed. Two shooters from Haryana and two private coaches are working their magic for India. The bronze-medal match will be razor-sharp. “We have to keep the shooters relaxed,” said Jaspal. How they so is a secret not to be shared.

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