BHOPAL: After adjusting the lighting at the MP State Shooting Academy final hall, two young electricians asked Manu Bhaker if she needed anything else. “Nahin,” the shooting star politely replied. The electricians were still waiting. Distracted, Manu suddenly realized it hadn’t hit home, and gave them a thumbs up with a smile.Job well done, the men left the range content.With that stardom and popularity that surrounds her, the Paris Olympics double medallist may have realised at that moment, that a lot rides on her validation.Nearly a decade ago, in 2017, Manu, already a teenage star, was known to getting things done her way. Calling it stubbornness would perhaps be much; insistence on her plans, especially those concerning her sport, was her weapon. It was also the reason for her success.She has a different weapon now — flexibility. While a certain doggedness suited her teenage self, flexibility is becoming of a mature Manu.Other than being a good judge of situations, Manu is also mastering the art of changing according to its demands.After the sudden passing away of her coach, Jaspal Rana, two months back, Manu has adapted herself with Serbian coach Jelena Arunovic.The Indian star, attending the Asian Games camp here, has been spending over eight hours at the ranges. She reaches the range at 7.30 am and is the last to leave with Jelena late afternoon. In between, some intense training happens.“Her openness to new methodologies has definitely made the transition to a slightly different way of working easier,” Jelena told TOI.“I think her flexibility comes first from the fact that she is never completely satisfied with her current level. She is always looking for what can still be improved, either to achieve a better result or to make her performance more stable. That is actually a trait of top athletes,” she added.The shooter is forging a bond with her new coach, spends hours with her at the ranges, and follows the unconventional ways of training that the Serbian brings. The 24-year-old does all this, without fuss or frown.“I think flexibility at this level does not mean accepting every change immediately. It means being able to understand why something is being changed, test it seriously, and then see whether it can actually help your performance,” Jelena, who had coached her sister Zorana to a gold in Paris, said.It isn’t just about training under a new coach. It is also about training with different ideas and different philosophies. With less than two years left for the 2028 LA Games, the star of 2024 looks in no mood for complacency. She rather looks hungry for more and is doing everything to repeat her performance.
