Teenage shooter Manu Bhaker has revealed that she banned her parents from accompanying her on foreign trips.
The 16 year old athlete told her parents not to accompany her to tournaments abroad as she struggles to adapt to life as one of India’s best known sportswomen.
Manu Bhaker has brought home World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medals this year in a sudden rise to fame, and is one of the favorites at the Asian Games in Indonesia.
But she is finding that success comes at a price, with a tough training schedule and a restrictive lifestyle that means less time with friends and a one-hour daily time limit for using her mobile phone.
Bhaker said she had resorted to banning her parents from her overseas trips as she tries to carve out a slice of freedom.
She made this known to AFP before a training session in Palembang, which is co-hosting the Asian Games along with Jakarta. she said;
“They make limits for me, like, ‘Eat that, eat this, don’t go there, do this, don’t do this, don’t use your phone, don’t do this now, go to bed,’”
“It’s a bit too much.”
In spite of her age, Bhaker is competing at senior level for the 25m sports pistol and both the individual and mixed team 10m air pistol.
Bhaker says she has spent fewer than 10 days at her home in Haryana state since February and knows her studies have suffered in spite of some tuition on the road.
She also admits she feels lonely sometimes.
