Anjum Moudgil ready to make fresh memories as she returns from voluntary break
Anjum Moudgil is pleased to be back in the national team to shoot at the World Cup in Munich. She has reclaimed the hunger to excel, after willingly choosing to stay slightly detached from the sport that had kept her occupied for a major part of this decade, for a while.
“I feel fresh and like a newcomer in the team,” said the 31-year-old Anjum, who has competed in the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris.
The 2018 World Championship silver medallist recently realised she has been far too obsessed with shooting in the Olympics over the past two cycles.
“I have been doing minimum training before the National Championships and the National Games. Still, was shooting well and won medals. I did well in the trials and could have competed in the World Cups earlier, if not in the main team. I chose to step back, and focus on a few things that have been pending for a long time,” recalled Anjum.
She utilised the time and all her savings to set up a dream project in Mohali with her husband, Ankush Bhardwaj – a gym with a shooting range and other sporting facilities called Archon Fitness.
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“It is the only gym with a shooting range in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, the Tricity,” said Anjum, happy to have set up a one-stop destination that provides holistic fitness and recreation facility for everyone.
Experience is a great teacher, only for those who are willing to learn. Anjum is a fine student of sport and life. Being a practitioner of the Art of Living, Anjum immerses herself in meditation and has learnt to live in the present.
“It has been great to take the mind off shooting and focus on so many other things. It has been a very good learning experience, tackling so many aspects. I have stopped thinking too far ahead. The focus is to stay in the moment and do one’s best. After the Tokyo Olympics, we tuned to Paris quickly, because the time was also short. Now, I focus only on the current competition. We will think about Los Angeles in 2028,” she said.
With plenty of achievements and medals, both in air rifle and rifle 3-position events, Anjum is quite relaxed about her shooting. Years of diligent training have shaped her technique nicely. With an uncluttered mind, she can shoot very well, even with limited preparation.
Even though two World Cups have finished already, there is plenty of action left in the season. The Asian Championship and the World Championships are lined up, along with another World Cup before the Shooting League of India (SLI) kickstarts.
Anjum is confident of fine-tuning her shooting to match world standards and lending the best possible support to the Indian team that is already quite dominant in the international arena.