Olympic champions in shooting say Manu's stupendous success not surprising

The shooting range in Chateauroux has become Manu Bhaker's happy hunting ground and Olympic champions like Anna Korakaki and Nino Salkuvadze, who have observed the Indian sensation for quite some time, are not surprised by her sensational performance so far.

Bhaker, a hugely experienced shooter who is only 22, is on course to win a record extending third Olympic after she qualified for the 25m pistol final by finishing a comfortable second on Friday, 2 August.

She already has bronze medals in the 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team alongside Sarabjot Singh, making her the first Indian to bag two medals at the same Summer Games.

Korakaki, the 2016 Rio Olympics champion in 25m, has known Bhaker for a long time and is happy for her Indian rival.

"Not at all surprised because Manu is a superb talent. I've known her for many years. She's an excellent shooter. She's really a hard worker. I really admire her as a person and as a shooter as well," the 28-year-old from Greece told PTI.

"We have known her potential for many years now. She's showing really, really great skills in both disciplines (10m and 25m). She's a very kind girl. She's always very calm, very kind to everyone.

"And also as a shooter, she's... You can just tell because she was really young at the time (when she burst on to the scene in 2018). When you see a special talent, you can spot it," Korakaki, who had a forgettable outing at her third Olympics due to a lingering eye issue, told PTI.

Korakaki's gold in 25m pistol and bronze in 10m pistol came at the Rio Games when she was just 20-year-old.

Another Olympic champion, the 55-year-old Nino Salukvadze who won the 25m gold for USSR at 1988 Seoul Olympics before winning a 10m pistol bronze for Georgia at Beijing 2008, considers Manu a very clever shooter.

"Manu is a very clever shooter and all Indians are. 15-20 years ago not many Indians were visible at shooting events but slowly they have great progress. Their spirit must be very strong," said 55-year-old Salukvadze who made her 10th straight appearance at the Olympics.

Korakaki determined to bounce back at LA28

The Greek athlete was forced to retire from the 10m air pistol qualification due to a focus issue she has been battling for the past four months.

Not able to maintain focus on the target for long, Korakaki came up with low scores of 90, 91, and 94 in the 25m pistol precision round before improving to shoot 98, 98, 99 in the three rapid series that doesn't require an athlete to focus for long.

"It's not like pain or something. It's not like a disease or something. I mean, my brain and my eyes are, there's nothing pathological, you know. They are working really well.

"I'm healthy. But there is an issue with... And that's why you can spot it in 10 metres in the precision stage, where you need to focus on the target and you need to aim for some time, for like 20 seconds And this is where my problem is, I cannot focus properly.

"I'm all the time up and down, my eye is not working well on that and that's why my rapid fire stage is very well, because the aiming lasts two seconds and there is like a huge target and there is no focus point," she explained.

Korakaki said the condition has been frustrating to deal with.

"...but I will have all the time ahead to work on it and come back stronger,” said Korakaki.