Manu Bhakar takes forward the legacy of two champions of Olympic movement in India

Three years after a series of heartbreaks in Tokyo, one of India's most celebrated and talented shooters fulfilled her dreams, bringing glory to the nation. She was training under the watchful eyes of Rana, a celebrated shooter in his heyday

When the nation was rejoicing the bronze medal performance of Manu Bhakar last Sunday, the Brother’s House in the capital was also celebrating her hour of glory. Those who live there were all the more happy that Jaspal Rana, the coach of Manu is related to them. Actually, Rana is an alumnus of St. Stephen’s college that was established by Delhi Brotherhood Society 140 years back. It emerged as the champion of Olympic movement in India, along with top cop Ashwani Kumar, who comes with a distinguished track-record. The second Director General of BSF monitored the security aspects of Olympic Games after the 1972 Munich Games. Ashwini Kumar was heading the security team of Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000) Games. Until the 1972 Munich Olympics, everything was going according to plan until tragedy struck when Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village and killed two members of the Israeli team. Nine other Israelis were held hostage as the terrorists bargained for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. That gory tragedy brought the Munich Games to a halt.

Post-Munich, there was a demand from various quarters to organise both summer and winter Olympic Games without any untoward incident. That was the time when the International Olympic Conference (IOC) requested him to look after their security aspects. IOC understood that Ashwini Kumar knew policing more than most of the people.

An avowed hockey buff, Ashwini Kumar once told me “In subsequent Olympics after Munich, increased security measures in the Olympic Villages and competition venues protected athletes. It is also true that increased security also diminished the festive and open atmosphere that is at the heart of the Games. But then you had no choice after the Munich massacre, especially because the number of terror outfits are swelling thick and fast across the world.”

And if we talk about Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBA), it has been doing great service in developing sports culture in India through its St. Stephen's College in Delhi and now St. Stephen's Cambridge school in Sonepat in Haryana. Their college has produced a host of great Olympians.

According to Brother Solomon George of the Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS), which established St. Stephen's College, "This college has produced hordes of players who have represented India in Olympic games. If it has been producing accomplished players, credit must be given to all those who work both as Christian priests and social workers. They are all associated with DBS."

Dr. Karni Singh is undoubtedly St. Stephen's College's most renowned Olympian. He participated in shooting competitions at the 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980 editions. Renowned sports administrator and a product of St. Stephen’s college, Randhir Singh also participated in five Olympics from 1968 to 1984.Mansher Singh, an exceptional shooter, competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Both Randhir Singh and Mansher ‘Joey’ Singh studied at St. Stephen's College and honed their shooting skills there.

During the Rome Games, Ranjit Bhatia, a mathematics professor at St. Stephen's College, competed in the marathon. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, St. Stephen's College's Piyush Kumar competed in the 4x400-meter relay race and Sandeep Sejwal participated in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke swimming events. Neha Aggarwal, a table tennis player and former student of St. Stephen's College participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

And in this Paris Olympics, Jaspal Rana, another alumnus of St. Stephen's College, is the coach of Manu Bhakar, who scripted history shooting an Olympic Bronze medal Sunday. The 22-year-old from Haryana became the first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal after she clinched the third position in the women's 10m air pistol final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in the French capital. A couple of days later, she scored with yet another podium finish.

Three years after a series of heartbreaks in Tokyo, one of India's most celebrated and talented shooters fulfilled her dreams, bringing glory to the nation. She was training under the watchful eyes of Rana, a celebrated shooter in his heyday. Rana honed his skills during his days in St. Stephen’s College.

“I only hope that DBS continues to provide world class facilities to students of their educational intuitions. I hope that like St. Stephen’s College, St. Stephan’s Cambridge school will also produce many Olympians,” said noted sports writer and commentator Ghaus Mohammad.

(The author is Delhi-based senior journalist and writer. He is author of Gandhi's Delhi which has brought to the forth many hidden facts about Mahatma Gandhi)