Heartiest congratulations to Manu Bhaker on her historic achievement. She has done India proud by opening the country's medal tally with bronze on the second day of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
I'm sure that the young shooter's brave show will rub off on the other Indian athletes and remind them that they all have the ability to win medals on the biggest stage.
Manu's personal trainer Jaspal Rana too deserves a fair share of credit. Initially, he was denied permission to travel to Paris, but the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acted swiftly and helped him get the accreditation to accompany his ward.
Manu had written to the IOA seeking permission to take her coach along. The IOA acceded to her request realising that the presence of personal trainers would help our athletes to be in the best mind space. After Manu won the medal, I spoke to Rana and he was delighted with her incredible achievement.
As I was confident of Manu finishing on the podium, I had decided to go to the Chateauroux Shooting Centre to watch her perform. I travelled in a car arranged by the organisers to Chateauroux, which is about 300 kilometres away from Paris.
However, we had covered half the distance when we came to know that the vehicle did not have permission to enter the shooting venue. By the time we solved the issue, it was too late and we had to go back. I still do not know the reason for denying us permission to go to Chateauroux.
(The writer is a legendary Indian athlete and president of the Indian Olympic Association)