Haryana babus made shooting prodigy struggle for licence

CHANDIGARH: Sixteen-year-old Haryana shooter Manu Bhaker, who won her second gold medal in the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Monday had to struggle for over two months to get a licence for a .22 bore pistol last year.
The shooting sensation on Monday shot her way to a second successive gold medal in a mixed team pistol event. She will next compete in 25m air pistol event on March 10.

The teenager from Goriya village in Haryana's Jhajjar district needed the licence to compete in the 2017 Asian Youth Games which were scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September. The games were not held as Sri Lanka lost its hosting rights due to political interference of its government in its Olympic committee. Her father Ramkishan Bhaker, chief engineer in merchant navy, said the Haryana bureaucrats took an inordinately long time to clear her request for licence.

"We used to travel daily to Jhajjar town, which is some 45km from our village for more than two months to procure the licence for 0.22 bore pistol from the officials since May last year. They (officials) used to defer the date and never heard us," Manu's father said.

"The Asian Youth Games were at our door and we were toiling for a licence so that Manu could up her performance. The police department and city magistrate were cooperative, but the then ADC did not pay any heed to our request," he added.

The deputy commissioner was on leave and in his absence the ADC was delegated the responsibility to grant the licence. Subsequently, Manu's father approached the Haryana education minister and even tweeted the CMO and the state sports minister. After more than two months, their efforts finally bore fruit and the young shooting prodigy managed to get the licence.

"It was only after the issue was raised by media that the officials took cognizance of her talent and the file was fast tracked in the department," Ramkishan added.

"But I saw a change in Manu at the time. She told me that she would win an international medal someday and issue a statement to all those who have turned a blind eye towards her," he revealed.

Entire Goriya and residents of adjacent villages are celebrating the newfound stardom of the new shooting sensation. "She did not inform me immediately after her win. She just wrote, 'Papa ho gaya' on WhatsApp. I knew that she had won another medal and we started celebration here," said the proud father.

An avid dancer, Manu used to participate in boxing, tennis, roller skating and Thang Ta, a form of martial arts, till 2015. But she gave up all other sports after deciding to focus on shooting.