Mother's Day 2021: Veering away from the 'traditional' route helped Manu Bhaker, believes mother Sumedha
Sumedha Bhaker is most proud about “the fact that Manu is my daughter".
Even though young women in India are finding ways to break barriers, there are still an overwhelming number of people who prefer to keep them confined to their ‘traditional’ gender roles.
If the 19-year-old Manu Bhaker has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in pistol shooting in the country, it has been her mother Sumedha who has quietly, behind the scenes worked to dismantle any hurdles in her path.
“We never put any kind of barriers for her,” Sumedha told Olympics.com.
“In our village, there is a lot of negativity in people’s mind, they don't allow their girl child to go out of the house. Even when they go to school, they're made to do the household work after coming back.
"Manu was never interested in household chores and we never forced her to do that. We allowed her to do what she wanted to.”
Manu was born in the village of Goria in Haryana’s Jhajjar district. At 16, she became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the World Cup (in Mexico, 2018). She has already pocketed eight medals (team and individual) at the marquee event and is seen as a bright medal prospect for the Tokyo Olympics.
"Shooting is her (Manu Bhaker's) passion,” added her mother.
“She wants to keep going ahead and do something. She wanted to try and learn everything. We never said no to that. Her father and I gave her all the freedom for that. We just asked them (their children) to take care of themselves.
"Manu (Bhaker) became a shooter by her hard work, I just supported her. She made a goal for herself to go ahead in life. It is her passion that brought her to this level. Every parent wants that their ward should go ahead in life but if they don't work hard, that's not possible.”
And even as Manu carries the responsibility of representing the nation on her young shoulders, her mother is her constant source of support.
"The real happiness in achieving success is only when we lose at times and then get back up,” she said.
“There are ups and downs in life. Manu keeps working and there are times when she's unlucky (at competitions). I always push her up and motivate her by saying next time you will do well.”
Sumedha is proud of all that Manu has achieved in such a short time, but what she is most proud about is, “the fact that Manu is my daughter".