Manu Bhaker tells Indian athletes to ignore Asian Games organisation issues and focus on competition

Manu Bhaker urged her fellow Indian athletes to put aside the distractions surrounding the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and concentrate on competing as the Games officially began in Japan. She called on teammates to preserve their energy for performance rather than dwelling on logistical problems.

The build-up to the continental event has been affected by complaints about accommodation, transportation and other arrangements, with several competitors and officials raising concerns about long journeys to training venues and organisational challenges. India has sent 499 athletes to the 2026 Asian Games, with participants entered across 36 sports. The country’s previous Asian Games showing in Hangzhou in 2022 produced 107 medals, including 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze.

Bhaker addressed fellow athletes directly in a video message shared by the Indian Olympic Association, urging perspective on the issues. "To all my fellow athletes from India, we will have some issues. I saw couple of issues circulated in social media and people telling me these are the issues," Bhaker said. "Regardless of whatever the issues we have, this is probably once in a lifetime opportunity and experience. We have to make sure that we enjoy the time rather than complaining," she added.

She stressed that preparation must not be undermined by the off-field distractions and called for focus on executing plans in competition. "We have prepared the best we can and so we must try to perform the best we can. We have worked so hard to be here and we should not waste our energy in pointing out that this is not right and that is not right," she said. "Medal may come or not, that is another story, but we must give our best."

The 24-year-old shooter enters Aichi-Nagoya with an Olympic résumé: at the Paris Olympics in 2024 she became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals at a single edition of the Games, taking bronze in the women's 10m air pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh. Those achievements were cited as part of the expectations surrounding her role in Japan.

Bhaker also reflected on the personal significance of her selection as a flagbearer for the Games, recalling the early stages of her career. "When I came to know of this (being chosen as one of the flagbearers), I had flashbacks of my earlier days. When I started, I never thought I would reach this far one day. It's definitely feeling proud and honoured," she said, noting she first competed at the Asian Games as a 16-year-old in Palembang in 2018 and did not attend that opening ceremony.

Bhaker is entered in three events in Aichi-Nagoya — the women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event — and framed her appeal to teammates around maintaining focus on competing and making the most of the international opportunity. While organisational concerns remain part of the wider conversation, her message was aimed at keeping athletes’ attention on performance at the Games.