Paris 2024: Anjum, Aishwary shrug off poor start to realise Olympic dream again

They might have taken the longer route but Tokyo Olympians Anjum Moudgil and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar have finally secured their berth for the Paris Olympic Games.

The duo, who train together in Delhi, had failed to win an Olympic quota in the 50m rifle three-position event. Both thus started with a two-point deficit at the Olympic selection trials conducted by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to pick the Indian team.

Both got off to a less-than-perfect start at the selection trials. While Anjum shot a modest 581 in the first selection trials in New Delhi, Aishwary shot an uncharacteristically poor 576.

With their back to the wall, they fought back impressively over the next three trials. Anjum scored 589, 592 and a decisive qualification round of 588 in the final trial to claim India’s second Olympic spot in the women’s 50m rifle three position event behind Sift Kaur Samra.

Aishwary also bounced back, with qualification rounds of 595, 590 and 591, on Friday to claim the first of two quotas.

Anjum, 30, was particularly emotional after securing her place in Paris. She needed to compose herself multiple times as she spoke of her struggles over the past couple of years.

“I was so close to winning a quota in the first world championship but missed out by one point – when I finished sixth. Then, I was actually selected for the Asian Games when they were scheduled to be held in 2022. But due to COVID, they got postponed,” she said.

“That affected so many things. When the trials were held in 2023, I wasn’t selected for the team. I didn’t just miss them but also the World Championships. I think all these things played a lot in my mind. I had such a good opportunity and when I lost it because of something that wasn’t in my control, it just broke me.”

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Anjum added that it took several months to recover from the disappointment.

“It was very difficult but I had to go back to the basics and surround myself with the right people. My husband, Ankush (Bhardwaj), was with me and I started from scratch.

“I travelled to Budapest and practised there. I participated in the World Cup in Brazil (where she finished 11th). I paid a part of my total expenses out of my own pocket,” she said.

Although the experience was hard, Anjum said it was a crucial one. “I think, staying, training and competing alone was the best thing I did. It made me understand what I can do on my own. Because when you are in the lane taking a shot, no one can help you. It’s just your mind. It took me a year to finally understand just how strong I was,” she said.

Aishwary, who at 23 will be one of India’s youngest two-time Olympians, had gone through his fair share of setbacks as well.

“I could have gotten the Olympic quota myself as well. I missed out on making the finals of both the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 World Championships. I couldn’t believe that,” he said.

On both occasions, Aishwary got a call from Anjum.

“I think I was in tears when I saw that he missed the final at the World Championships. I spoke to him and told him, ‘Ash, I know how you must be feeling because I was exactly in the same position. I told him to just cry. It’s very important to cry then,’” Anjum said.

Aishwary, known to most as a happy-go-lucky guy, admitted breaking down at the end of the first selection trial in New Delhi when he shot one of his lowest scores over the past year.

Just like Anjum though, he emerged stronger from that. “I was a little disappointed in the first trial, but I knew that ‘baki teen trials me phodna hi hai’ (I had to do really well in the remaining three trials).

“I was confident that both of us would do well. We have been working hard for so many years and have reached here. I was also sure that I wouldn’t do that badly in the next three or four matches and that I wouldn’t be able to go to the Olympics,” he said.

That was Anjum’s belief too.

“We didn’t really accept the bad score in that first trial. We had some technical issues but we knew we had prepared well. We tried our best to not waste energy thinking about that it and focussed on our next chances,” she said.

Having done just that, both Anjum and Aishwary are already thinking of what they need to do in Paris in a couple of months’ time. The two have already trained at the shooting range in Chateauroux as part of a training camp last year and are familiar with the conditions they would be facing at the Olympics.

“After Tokyo, we both were very eager to go to another Olympics. Bohot aag lagi thi ki jaana hai (There was a fire burning within us that we had to go again). That kept us going,” she said.

“The journey to Tokyo was our first Olympics journey. It was like a learning phase for everyone. And also, I won’t say it was a very positive situation. We had a very controversial end to Tokyo,” Anjum said.

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After everything she and Aishwary faced over the past couple of years, Anjum felt they were both up for the challenge of Paris.

“I think we have learned a lot. We know how to take care of ourselves. We know how to cut the chaos, cut people out and just have the team that is there with you.

“No matter how good you are, they (critics) don’t care. And if you do badly, it doesn’t matter (for them). Aishwarya has that (mentality) as well. The two of us have a very small but positive support group of friends, family and coaches. We are just going to correct our mistakes from Tokyo. Whatever we have gone through in the last 3-4 years will be very beneficial for us,” she said.