Indian double Olympic medalist and Asian Games gold medalist shooter Manu Bhaker expressed happiness at being one of the flag-bearers for the Indian contingent for the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony, saying that it feels “heartwarming”. The star shooter also recalled some special memories attached with opening ceremonies at multi-sporting events.
Manu Bhaker and kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat will be India’s flag-bearers for the Asian Games opening ceremony which will take place on Saturday.
Speaking in a video ahead of the ceremony, Bhaker said that realising that she was chosen as one of the flag-bearers left her with a “heartwarming” feeling, and all she could experience was flashbacks of her early days in the sport and reflecting on how far she has come.
“Honestly, when I found out yesterday, I had all these flashback memories of my earlier days. And, you know, when I started, I never thought that this was where I could reach one day in my sport. So, it is definitely a very heartwarming feeling. I feel really proud, really honoured, and really, really happy to be chosen as the flag bearer for my country. I just want to say thank you to God and thank you to everyone for all the love and support,” she said.
Manu said that during her first Asian Games back in 2018, she was a teenager and missed the opening ceremony. She recalled attending the opening ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and being told by her coach and late shooting legend Jaspal Rana not to attend the opening ceremonies if she was not a flag-bearer, due to how the event could take a toll on her physical health ahead of her matches.
“I remember I was 16 years old during my first Asian Games, and this is my third. My first one was in Jakarta, though we were in Palembang, which was really far from the main village, so we couldn’t attend. The first ceremony I ever attended was at the Commonwealth Games. After that, my coach, Jaspal Sir, told me, “If you are the flag bearer, then I will allow you to attend the ceremonies; otherwise, no,” because our matches usually start on Day one or Day two, so it gets very hectic for us in shooting,” she recalled.
“Usually, our competitions start right the day after the opening ceremony. So after that, it turned out that every time I attended an opening ceremony, I was either holding the flag or watching it on TV. It feels very nostalgic because I never imagined I would be here one day. Sports are just amazing! That is all I have to say right now,” she added.
In her message to the Indian contingent ahead of the main competition, Manu encouraged them to make the best out of this “once in a lifetime opportunity” and giving their best and not complain too much about the problems they could face. These comments come as several Indian athletes struggled for accommodation in Aichi and Nagoya.
“To all the athletes representing India at the Asian Games in Japan, my message is that yes, we will face some issues. I saw a few issues circulating on social media, and people have mentioned certain problems. But regardless of the issues, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience. We have to make sure that we enjoy this time rather than complain, and have the best time of our lives,” she said.
“We should prepare as best as we can and try to perform at our best. We have all worked so hard to be here, so we should not waste our energy complaining about what’s right or wrong. Instead, the best we can do is give it best. Winning a medal or not is a different story, but what is in our hands is to give our best. I really hope that a lot of Indian people will be cheering for us. Thank you so much, all the best to everyone, and God bless us all,” she signed off.
Bhaker, who won two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, will compete in the women’s 10m air pistol, women’s 25m pistol, and 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team. She made history in Paris by becoming the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games.
Pawan, now the male flag-bearer replacing shot put star Tajinderpal Singh Toor due to technical issues, will be aiming to lead India to another gold medal in men’s kabaddi. Since the debut of the sport in men’s team competition at the 1990 Asian Games, India has won gold at eight out of nine editions, except for a bronze medal finish in the 2018 edition in Australia. In the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games edition, India beat Iran 33-29 to capture the gold medal in the men’s competition.
