Bhaker seeks to continue golden run in Asiad, Worlds
NEWDELHI: The stage is getting bigger and the expectations are going higher but Indian shooting sensation Manu Bhaker is grounded as she gears up for another test of her 16-year-old mind and body in next month’s Asian Games.
“I want to do well in those events (Asian Games followed by World Championships) but, frankly speaking, I am mainly thinking about competing in the next competition and not about medals. Pressure is there, but it’s there everywhere,” the shooter from Jhajjar, Haryana was quoted as saying by PTI as she calmly spoke about the challenges that lie ahead.
Bhaker is also least affected by the controversies surrounding her selection in three events for the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Jakarta and Palembeng from August 18.
After taking the shooting world by storm with a plethora of medals, including innumerable gold in top international events, the 16-year-old will next compete in 10m air pistol, 25m sports pistol and mixed air pistol at the Asian Games.
In fact, her international gold medal count stands at an astonishing 10, a massive achievement for a teenager.
Ignored for the Asiad mixed team air pistol event, the seasoned Heena Sidhu had hit out at the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) and, in a thinlyveiled reference to the Haryana girl, said the federation was bending rules to favour the favourites.
One of the “favourites” is understood to be Bhaker, who remains unperturbed.
“Main sirf khelne se matlab rakhti hoon, bas (I am only concerned about my shooting). I am fine if I am picked in three events, if they select me for one event I am fine and if I am not picked for one, then also I am ok,” Bhaker said with a smile.
INJURED BOPANNA MAY MISS ROGERS CUP
BENGALURU: Doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna, who is out of action since Wimbledon, says he may have to pull out of Rogers Cup to let his shoulder heal ahead of the Asian Games.
If Bopanna misses the ATP 1000 series event, it would mean that he will head to the Asian Games without any competitive match since Wimbledon Championships. Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-vasselin’s conceded their men’s doubles second round after the Indian suffered an injury, early this month.
The injury has already forced him to miss at least three ATP World Tour events including the Bastad event, where he had planned to play alongside Divij Sharan, who will be his men’s doubles partner at the Asiad
KOREAN ATHLETES TRAIN TOGETHER
SEOUL: North Korean athletes arrived in the South on Sunday for joint training ahead of the Asian Games next month, the latest effort at rare cross-border sports diplomacy.
The two Koreas agreed last month to field joint teams in three sports -- canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball — at the Asiad in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.
Dressed in matching light blue outfits, the delegation of 34 athletes and coaches landed at Incheon International Airport via Beijing. Their exact schedules have yet to be determined but the North Koreans are expected to begin training with their South Korean teammates next week.
It is the first time North and South Korea have formed unified teams to compete at the Asiad.