Jaspal Rana was standing beside Manu Bhaker when the shooter spoke to the mediapersons at the mixed zone of the Chateauroux shooting centre on Saturday.
After her unprecedented success in Paris, the corporates will be after Manu to get her to endorse their products. Rana will have to guard and guide her more now. It’s a distraction every sportsperson deals with.
“She will have to face it and learn how to live with it. She has faced the problems, now she will deal with these things too. Solving a problem is more difficult than distractions,” Rana told The Telegraph.
Manu’s market value has gone north after she won two bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events in Paris. She missed out on a third in the 25m pistol event on Saturday.
“She will have a three-month break. And I want her to enjoy to the full. And what’s wrong if she does that? If someone gets 99.9 per cent in the exams, will not she have a blast? She is a smart kid and knows how to handle everything.”
Manu said she would try to do better in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but Rana felt that’s too far.
“Four years? It’s a long time. What’s the point thinking about LA from now on...
I have not set any target for her now.”