When Fate Pulled the Trigger: Fisherman’s Daughter Manisha’s Remarkable Rise from Gora Gaon to Asian Games

Shooting was never in Manisha Keer's plans, nor had she ever dreamt of pursuing sport. Growing up in a fisherman's family in Bhopal's Gora Gaon village, she could hardly imagine entering a sport as expensive as shooting. But fate had other plans. When an opportunity came her way, she seized it - and turned it into a career she could never have imagined.

Manisha had never held a gun, nor had she even seen one up close. Then, in 2013, came an unexpected turn in her life. The Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy of Excellence - India's only full-fledged state-run facility other than the Dr. Karni Singh Range - was conducting selection trials. Brought to the academy by her elder sister, Sona, a rower herself, Manisha decided to give the shotgun trials a shot.

That was the first time she had seen a gun, watched a clay target fly and held a shotgun. The first encounter, however, was anything but smooth. The force of the 12-bore shotgun cartridge and its recoil left her hand numb. Then came a sharp pain. For a moment, Manisha wondered if she would ever be able to withstand the demands of the sport.

Little did she know then that those tentative first steps would set her on a journey that would take her to the biggest stages of the sport.

"It bothered me for a while. But gradually I tried, the body got used to it, settled down, trained well, focused, went to the gym, worked hard, and today, here is the result," she told Sports Now, recalling her early interaction with trap shooting.

A decade later, she would establish herself as one of India's finest-ever trap shooters. Her trophy cabinet includes an individual silver medal in the junior women's trap event at the 2018 ISSF World Championships in Changwon, followed by a silver in the women's trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo in 2021 and another at the Asian Games in 2023.

Now a regular in India's national shooting set-up, Manisha won the national selection trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range earlier this year. The field was a strong one, featuring big names such as Neeru Dhanda, the first Indian woman to win Trap gold at the ISSF World Cup, and Asian Championships gold medallist Aashima Ahlawat.

For all her success, Manisha's journey into shooting was never a chosen one. Rather, it was written by destiny and shaped by the sacrifices of a family that continues to struggle to make ends meet. She is still looking for a job.

"I could never have started shooting on my own because everything is so expensive, and I couldn't afford those things (jacket and weapon)," Manisha said.

For all her talent, she was still raw - a gifted shooter who needed polishing, both technically and otherwise.

"After my selection in the state academy, I got coaches who taught me the basics and technical aspects, organised foreign camps in Italy, changed my equipment, and had custom stocks made," said the 27-year-old.

Yet, buying a weapon remained a luxury beyond her means. The place at the shooting academy helped her realise the opportunity. Now a renowned shooter, Manisha is bound for her second Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, scheduled for September 19 to October 4, as part of India’s 30-member shooting squad. Yet, she remains deeply grateful to the academy for giving her an opportunity that brought purpose and hope to a life marked by struggle.

"All the credit for the medals I won in the Asian Games, World Cups, World Championships, and Nationals, I would like to give to the MP State Shooting Academy and our government. Because if I weren't in the academy, I don't think I would have been able to win medals in so many competitions till now," said Manisha.

But the academy was only one part of the support system that helped her get this far. Behind it stood her parents, who understood what shooting meant to her and gave her the freedom to focus on the sport.

"I was the only girl whose parents sent me here, and they gave me the freedom to stay here and train. And at home, whatever happens, my parents don't let those things reach me, thinking, "Let her stay there with a free mind so she doesn't worry and performs well." So, I really appreciate that they keep me away from all those household situations. They keep me safe from those things," she said.

But mastering trap shooting was a challenge of its own. A distinctly different discipline of shooting, trap involves targets launched at high speed from a trap house, demanding immense focus and patience.

"Extremely difficult," Manisha would say. But years of training and simulation practice have gradually taken the discomfort out of it. What once felt daunting has become instinctive - staying focused, remaining patient and learning from every mistake.

"When we train for something, you adapt to it. Mistakes happen several times, then we learn and work on those things," she added.

Before she heads to the range for a competition, she trusts the process and follows it diligently, analysing every small detail and painstakingly working on the areas that need improvement.

"It's not like we only focus when we go into the match itself. Before that during training we learn how to stay focused, remain mentally present, and handle all basic aspects. We follow a process. In that process, errors happen, ups and downs occur, so we note them down. Then, by focusing more on that specific thing and working solely on it, our focus keeps building up. So, when we play a match, stand at the station, focus, and watch the clay target, it's all part of the training. Working on these things makes it easier to follow everything during the match," she said.

Now training at the MP State Academy, she spends 12 hours a day preparing for the Asian Games, dividing her sessions between shooting, the gym and mental conditioning. The gruelling routine is designed for those crunch moments when a medal - and its colour - can be decided in a matter of milliseconds.

At the range, coaches are constantly instructing the shooters, helping them stay alert to the score and understand exactly what they need to target. Executing those instructions under pressure is never easy, which is why simulation and coordination drills form an important part of their training.

"During mental training, we are given tasks so whatever situation comes up there, we can handle it. For example, if the coach says, "You have to hit 10 out of 10", to execute that, it requires preparation, and staying calm and focused on every single target is of paramount importance. If you don't hit 10 out of 10, then you have to go for 10 out of 10 again. If you miss again, you go a third time. That’s how we train ourselves there so that those difficulties don’t arise during the match," she said.

Heading to the Asian Games, Manisha carries with her the lessons of Hangzhou - and a determination not to repeat the mistakes she made there. This time, she is stepping onto the content's biggest stage with greater clarity, sharper focus and complete faith in the preparation that has brought her this far.

"Confidence is really great. There aren't any issues as such because the last Asian Games I played in, the things I got to learn from there, I am currently training to improve those very things," said Manisha.

Manisha, however, refuses to get weighed down by the pressure of winning a medal or look too far ahead to the Olympic selection trials that begin in January, or even the government job she is still hoping to secure. For now, her focus remains firmly on the process.

"I am living in the present and preparing for it. We have no idea what will happen in the future. So, I don't even think about that," she said.

And perhaps that is the best way for Manisha to look at it as she heads to the Asian Games as one of India's strongest medal hopes. If her journey has taught her anything, it is that life can take you somewhere you never imagined you would go.

Sudipta Biswas is a seasoned sports journalist with over a decade of experience in the Indian news media landscape. An alumnus of IIMC-Aizawl, he spec... View More