Manu Bhaker says he shouldn’t have gone to Olympics and won medals: heartbroken father

Indian ace shooter Manu Bhaker, who made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning two bronze medals, is heartbroken by Khel Ratna’s snub. Manu claims that she had submitted her name to the online portal for the award, but failed to make it to the shortlist of 30 names. Manu, who is the first sportswoman in the country to win two medals at the same Olympic Games, is understandably disappointed to see her name not selected for the country’s highest sporting honor. In fact, her father said he regretted putting her into a sport like shooting. Instead, I should have made her a cricketer.

In a conversation with the Times of IndiaManu Bhaker’s father took a dig at the Sports Ministry and the committee finalizing the list of Khel Ratna nominees. While the ministry said Manu did not submit his name for the award, the shooter contradicted it.

“I regret putting her into the sport of shooting. I should have made her a cricketer instead. Then all the awards and accolades would have come to her. She won two Olympic medals in one edition, no one has ever done this. What else do you hope my child does for the country? The government should recognize her efforts. I spoke to Manu and she was discouraged by all this. “I shouldn’t have gone in the Olympics and win medals the country. In fact, I should not have become a sportsman,” Manu’s father told the newspaper.

It was also reported that Manu had submitted his name on the web portal. The Ministry of Sports and the federation are said to be in talks to fully understand the subject.

“Manu said she had applied on the portal. If that was the case, then the commission must have considered her name. Whatever the situation, the federation contacted the ministry and asked officials to include her name “, the source said.

Manu is also said to have applied for the country’s third and fourth highest civilian awards – Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri respectively. The entries, according to the document, were submitted on the Padma awards portal on September 15.