Manu Bhaker leaves Chennai event over a question on video with Neeraj Chopra

Double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker reportedly left an event in Chennai on Wednesday after a reporter asked her mother a question on the viral video of her chatting with javelin star Neeraj Chopra during Paris Olympics 2024. Bhaker, 22, attended an event at Chennai’s Velammal Nexus School, which felicitated the champion shooter.
Earlier this month, two videos from Paris gained widespread attention online – one showing Neeraj Chopra chatting with Manu Bhaker and the other capturing him in conversation with the shooter’s mother.
In the second clip, Sumedha Bhaker holds Chopra’s hand as they engage in an animated conversation. The video has racked up over a million views on X (formerly Twitter). Many people jokingly concluded that the elder Mrs Bhaker was sizing up Chopra as a suitable match for her daughter.
The short clips promoted fans of Manu Bhaker and Neeraj Chopra to suggest that the duo would make a great couple.
(Watch: Manu Bhaker’s mother meets Neeraj Chopra. ‘Rishta pakka?’ asks internet)
At the Chennai event on Wednesday, Bhaker fielded several questions from journalists.
A reporter asked her about wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification and the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) verdict on her appeal.
“Vinesh’s judgement was politically motivated. What’s your opinion?” the reporter asked Bhaker, according to a report by Sportstar.
Before the shooter could respond, another reporter shot a question to Bhaker’s mother.
“What was your conversation with Neeraj (Chopra)?” the reporter asked Sumedha Bhaker, Sportstar reported.
The question was the last straw that prompted Manu Bhaker to leave the event, the report said.
Last week, Manu Bhaker’s father, Ram Kishan Bhaker, said that she is “still too young” and they are “not thinking of her marriage.
Manu Bhaker scripted history at Paris Olympics 2024 by becoming the first Indian athlete post Independence to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics. On the other hand, Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal in men’s javelin, three years after he bagged a gold in the Tokyo edition of the Games