Manu, who claimed a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event to become the first woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal, was part of an interactive session ‘Beyond the Trigger: Harnessing Mental Toughness for Success in Any Field’ at the Economic Times’ World Leaders Forum 2024 (ETWLF 2024) held on Saturday.
During the session, Manu answered all the questions gracefully with ease.
Manu was first asked what’s going on in her mind in terms of where she goes further from here and what the future holds for her after the high of winning two Olympic medals.
Thanking the audience for a warm welcome, Manu said, “For me the target will be the journey to gold in the Olympic games, so the next thing will be LA for me. However, I am on a short break for now. It’s been eight and a half years that I took a break from my sport. So right now is the time when I’m like 3 months, 4 months (break) I will take and then start back with my training again for LA 2028.And all the competitions in between I am like it’s just a milestone and the further goal will be LA 2028 for me. And right now also I am enjoying everything, I mean I am getting to dress up and all (giggles), so it’s fun and games.”
Manu was then asked to reflect on one of her recent quotes where she had said that one can become an engineer or a doctor, whichever respective field you want to excel in, and so is with sport that has so much to offer in today’s times, but does any other profession has the pain the offer the way sport does because if things don’t work, like what happened in Tokyo, it can be pretty painful.
Manu said, “It can be (painful) but I believe that when you have really invested in something, when something is really close to your heart, for example, for me it’s my sport, I am really connected to it emotionally, physically, mentally, so it will cause pain when sometimes you are not able to deliver to the level that you have been expecting. So for some of the people it will be sport, for some it will be education, for some it will be business. So whenever you have really invested in something, and you are not really able to deliver to your levels, that will cause a lot of pain. And sports I believe gave me an opportunity to travel the world which I really really enjoyed, so I would really be like ‘go into sports but also you have to balance your studies and everything’. Everything is really important, you can’t be like just sports or just activities, or just studies, it should be a balance in life.”
(TOI Photo)
On being asked how lonely a sport like shooting can get, Manu said, “We (shooters) find our interests in it, for me my sport gives me kick. For example, if I am shooting in some event and I do not win, so for the next event for me it will be like ‘I have to win, I have to win in the next competition’. The mistakes I made, I should learn from them and not repeat in the next one. So we set short-term goals for the very next competition, or the next year’s competitions. In beginning shooting can be really really boring for some people but once you start to get a hold of it, I am sure it’s really interesting for a hobby also. It can be really interesting to keep your mind off things. So I really enjoy it and I would ask you all whenever you come to the ranges, if you get time, please try shooting, it’s a very good stress reliever as well.”
On being asked if her hobbies that she has been cultivating apart from shooting, sketching, horse riding, playing the violin, reading, are really hobbies or coping mechanisms to cope with shooting, Manu said, “For me they are just hobbies because I really enjoy doing different things, I mean we all should find time for ourselves to be able to do things that we really like. Some people like to try different sports, for example, on Sundays they go for a run, for a football match or something, some people go for movies and all. You should definitely find time for yourself, definitely devote atleast five hours or so every week for yourself and it’ll make you feel really good. For me, it’s trying different sports, different activities, it’s really fun and easy. You should enjoy what you do and if you find out time for yourself even like 5-6 hours every week, it’ll really elevate your mood and it’ll really be able to help you focus better in what you’re doing in your life.”
Manu was then asked what was more difficult, finding motivation after Tokyo or staying motivated now after this kind of a high that she sees.
Manu replies, “I believe both of those situations like the one that I had after Tokyo, it took a toll on me, I was really really heartbroken, I was like next time I have to win and I must win but during the process, as soon as Tokyo ended I was really motivated for the next Olympic games, but 2022 and 2023 showed me a really tough time. So coping up at that time was really difficult for me, but I was like that just put in your honest hard work and just let it be. I would like to share this with you all that before Paris Olympics, I was not able to win any major medal in any event. I was winning team medals but not individual medals so I was really not confident before entering Paris 2024 but my coach and my family were like ‘you must deliver what you’ve learnt, you must try to do your best in this event and just let it be. You will win a medal.’ He (the coach) was really confident in me, but I was not, but when you are really focused in your process I am sure you will get the results as well.”
On being asked to talk about her going back to academics as athletes across sports struggle with their careers post retirement and by going back to academics, she is really setting a benchmark for younger kids, Manu said, “I never left studies. I come from a family of engineers, professors, teachers and all, so it’s like I have this kind of pressure when I am in studies in schools or colleges. So there is this little pressure that if you fail, it’s not going to look good on your profile. I don’t want to be tagged like ‘she failed this class, you’re off the college’. So I would not like do that and my tutors really help me with that and I believe that you should be able to balance everything in your life. One thing cannot take you as far as you would want to go, so for me it’s like when I get free time out of sport I really enjoy studying as well and my tutors really help me with that.”
Manu was then asked to talk about her life as a teenager during which youngsters tend to hang around with friends and she was practicing shooting at the range.
Manu replies, “I am sure many people like to enjoy their teenage years, hanging out with friends, or going for a movie, but for me it was never really the case. I was actually not able to make friends because I was not really around in school times or college times, so I was mostly out for shooting competitions for the country and I think at that time when I was 16-17-18 years old, the major thing that really inspired me and motivated me and that kept me going was that if I lose one competition I would be really pissed off, I would be like ‘how could you lose, how are you not able to win this competition’, so that would really trigger me, it would actually trigger me a lot and then if I win a competition, I would be like ‘you have to repeat it, you have to do it again.’ So that was my motivation that really kept me going when I was 16-17-18-19, but right now I am more patient with things like ‘OK you will win when you will, just keep going with the flow and keep putting your hard work.’ I also enjoy watching movies and all with my family and friends, I take out time, as I mentioned earlier, I take out time for my hobbies, I take out time to spend with my family and as a human being that is the foremost priority we should have, spending time with your family and giving yourself time as well, that’ll really really help you, mentally, physically and to go in a longer run in your careers.”
Manu was then asked if she was a product of the system because champions have gone on to become what they’ve become apropos the system like in some ways there are athletes who have benefitted from the system and then there are athletes who have gone on to succeed regardless of what the system has provided, what does she look at herself as.
Manu answers, “We all come across several challenging moments in our lives and in our careers, for me also sometimes it was really challenging for me to be able to alongwith the system, sometimes the system really helped me, to actually achieve something in life, like win some competition or qualify for some events or competitions. So it was both, actually the system helped me also and when it was challenging for me. For example, before the Paris Olympics, we had 4-5 sets of trials and I was shooting in three events, it was really hectic for me. It was challenging but it really made me strong and I came out stronger and actually it really helped me in Paris as well. So I don’t think we can always have everything, how we want them to be, sometimes life will throw really hard times at you, sometimes it’ll be really difficult for you all, it was for me as well but that time will really make you stronger and I can’t say I am a product of something or not but everything that has happened in my life really made me who I am today and I am really grateful that it had happened.”
On being asked about the small struggles that a shooter faces like importing a gun and whether things have improved, Manu said, “Initially I did face this challenge that I was not really able to get a license to import a pistol, but sooner the things were addressed and I also got help from the government and from the media people specially, the media was the body that really helped me with getting a license for the first time when I had to import the pistol, so everything can be useful, I never imagined I will have such good relations with media people in the longer term and definitely I believe that challenges will help you get stronger in life. There’s a saying that God will throw challenges at you thinking that you are capable of overcoming that and becoming even stronger. So just face the challenges whatever there are in your lives and I am sure some people have it even tougher challenges in lives, but they’ll make us stronger.”
(TOI Photo)
Manu was then asked how emotionally fragile shooters’ life can be and how she stays away from anything that can negatively impact her as it’s such a mental thing.
Manu replies, “Yes it gets boring at times for me as well even now. My sport has taught me so much of patience, earlier I was a really impulsive person. I would really react to things quickly, specially when I was into boxing and karate, I was so impulsive in nature, I was like, if it’s getting out of my hands I would react immediately. Bit this sport has taught me lot of patience and I would say that you should actually stick by what you really like in life. Shooting I really love, I really enjoy playing my sport, so I think I am gonna stick by for a really long time and will try for as long as it’s possible for me, for as long as I love my sport and we should all try to give our best in our fields. And India has so much of potential, 1.5 billion people now and we all have so much of talent, so much of potential, in the coming years I think we can dominate in many many different segments of life, segments of career.”
Before ending the session, Manu added, “Paralympics have just begun and Indians are also doing well, let’s all support our Paralympians, let’s cheer for them, root for them, we hope they bring as many medals as possible for our country and shine brighter.”