India’s pride, 22-year old Manu Bhaker created history by winning two bronze medals in the 10m air pistol shooting event at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, which comes to an end on August 11.
Bhaker not only became the first female shooter to win a bronze at the Olympics, but also the first Indian woman to win two medals at the prestigious sporting event. While Bhaker’s hard work paid off, the path to getting there involved not just immense practice, but also tech and analytics.
Exemplary Rise of Manu
Bhaker, born in Goria village of Haryana, won a gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in the women’s 25m pistol team event and a record-setting individual gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 10m air pistol event. At 16, she became the youngest Indian to win gold at the ISSF World Cup.
However, the journey was not all easy, with a major technical glitch that deprived her of an Olympic medal earlier. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, a pistol malfunction had cost her a chance at a medal. The incident pushed her to think of quitting the sport altogether. However, with the support of her coach Jaspal Rana, Manu continued.
Despite her diverse sporting background in tennis, skating, boxing, and even music (violinist) Bhaker chose to focus on shooting at 14, with support from her family. Her journey from a small village to international acclaim has brought into focus the role that tech and analytics played in her success.
Ace Shooters Swear by AI and Analytics
At MLDS 2023, former Indian Olympic gold medalist and retired sport shooter Abhinav Bindra spoke to AIM about the integration of analytics in sports.
“Technology and analytics play an extremely important role, especially in today’s day and age. I mean, there are lots of different technologies available to analyse sporting performance, movement, and form,” he said.
Bindra believes that AI will have a crucial role to play in the whole gamut of sports and analytics. He said that in a few years, AI will take over tasks currently handled by data scientists, and perform them in seconds. “From an analysis point of view it’s going to have a massive impact there,” he said.
Data is Everything
Last year, Pierre Beauchamp, the high-performance director for the National Rifle Association of India, emphasised the importance of data management and the need to convert data into usable information for coaches.
“Data management is an area that was previously not looked at or not so seriously, at least, for shooting in India. I am looking at numbers in everything and am heavily interested in data analytics and how it can support decision-making for the organisation,” he said.
Beauchamp also believes that when decisions are data-driven and include input from athletes and coaches, the outcomes improve. Without this, accurate assessments become challenging.
Manu Bhaker with Pierre Beauchamp (left) and Sarabjot Singh, with whom she won bronze under mixed category at the Paris Olympics 2024. Source: LinkedIn
Data Analysis for Shooting
In a study conducted on air rifle elite shooters from China, who have had a long history of winning at the Olympics, key factors such as hold, aim and trigger control were analysed. Data collected from 60 shots per shooter showed that the hold factor is central, influencing both the aim and trigger control, and ultimately, the shooting result.
The findings suggested that the interaction between these factors determined shooting success, providing valuable insights for training and performance enhancement.
With increased focus on data analytics, it is no surprise that even big-tech companies are investing in sports analytics. For instance, Formula 1 racing uses AWS for insights and analysis to improve the game.
With two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, along with gold medals at the World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and Youth Olympic Games, Manu Bhaker has become the most successful Indian woman shooter in history at a very young age.
With improved performance at the recent games, the role of AI and data analysts for competitive sports in India is only going to accelerate.
