India’s teenage shooting prodigy Manu Bhaker recently experienced a narrow escape from a road accident. She took to Twitter to complain about the Haryana Roadways bus driver who reportedly drove recklessly, causing an accident with the car the shooter was traveling in along with her family members. As per a report in Sportstar, the 17-year-old, accompanied by her family members, was returning home from a national shooting camp in New Delhi when the accident occurred
Bhaker posted a picture of her damaged car claiming that the bus driver was driving recklessly and was trying to overtake them at a "very high speed".
Bhaker also complained about the lack of compliance with driving rules in Haryana. She further shared the number of the bus, the name and number of the driver.
"Haryana Roadways tried to kill me. Running Rush drive and overtaking on very high speed. Dadri Depo. Bus no 5483. Driver name Mohan. Driver no 222. Said he has to reach Chandigarh and can’t wait," Bhaker tweeted tagging Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state sports minister Anil Vij.
Bhaker's father, Ramkishan Bhaker, told Sportstar: "Thankfully we all are safe and no one is hurt. But this shows how dangerous Haryana Roadways have become. The bus tried to overtake us. It should be ensured that people don't over speed and overtake.
The 17-year-old had missed out on a podium finish at the Asian Games, but however, she secured an Olympic berth after finishing fourth in the women’s 10m air pistol event of the ISSF World Cup in Munich in May. This year so far has had Bhaker winning three gold medals and all of them have come in 10m pistol mixed team event along with another teen shooter Saurabh Chaudhary. She brought home the 10m pistol mixed team gold medals in the World Cups in New Delhi, Munich and Beijing. After the Munich World Cup, she also secured a 2020 Tokyo Olympics quota.
READ: Why Manu Bhaker Banned Her Parents From Asian Games
Who is Manu Bhaker?
The pistol shooter, who hails from Goria village in Jhajjar, is one of India’s top young stars. She won multiple gold medals in her maiden senior World Cup, Commonwealth Games, besides clinching the top prize at the Youth Olympics last October.
Bhaker had become the first Indian shooter to win a gold at the Youth Olympics. The prodigy went on to bag the women’s 10m air pistol gold medal at the CWG 2018 too. Prior to that, in her maiden senior World Cup, she stunned the entire fraternity with her pistol shooting skills. She won the women’s air pistol gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, becoming the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the event.
Manu secured India’s second individual gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup. She captured two gold medals — in individual and team events.
Why shooting
Coming from a state which has been home to various sporting talents the country boasts of, Manu experimented with various sports forms from her school days. She played various sports from volleyball, Thang Ta, a popular martial art from Manipur, Huyen Langlon, another Manipuri martial art, as well as boxing, tennis, and skating till she was 14. She went on to win medals at the National Games in these events. Shooting happened accidentally when one day at her school’s shooting range court, she casually took up a gun and shot a straight 7.5.
Family as backbone
Manu’s father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, works as a chief engineer in the Merchant Navy whilst her mother Sumedha is an ex-school teacher. In fact, while her home state is notorious for gender inequality, Manu’s family runs a Universal school, which is a space where interested students, above class five of either gender, can take up shooting.
Feature Image Credit: Twitter
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