Olympics 2024: Moudgil overcomes mental demons to secure place in shooting contingent for Paris Games

Overcoming mental demons after being left out of the Indian team from last year’s Asian Games and the World Championships was key to shooter Anjum Moudgil securing a Paris Olympic berth.

Former world no.1 Moudgil, a world championships and Commonwealth Games medallist, competed in two events during the last edition in Tokyo. She finished 15th in the 50m rifle 3 position and 18th in the 10m air rifle, but in Paris, she will be featuring in only women’s 50m 3 position.

By her own admission, the ouster from the Indian team for Worlds and Asian Games due to inconsistent form was an eye opener for her as the 30-year-old worked on bettering her mental toughness besides focusing entirely on her training.

“Three years after Tokyo was a roller-coaster ride for me. I have seen tough times but I wanted to comeback stronger. The experiences of Tokyo will surely be of helpful (in Paris),” Moudgil said in a virtual media interaction.

“I really took advantage of quotas and trials, the federation told me not to lose out hope. They understood the things I was going through. I was really confident of making through to the team after I didn’t make the team for World Championships and the Asian Games because of just 2 points in the trials. I was too focused and positive in giving my best in the trials. I knew my strengths and how to work under pressure and it paid off.

“One year after Tokyo, I won couple of medals in World Cups and became world no.1. I did mental training focus, it’s been a positive step for me. I now speak up, which is a positive change heading to Paris. I used time to get better and find what works better for me,” she added.

Understanding the importance of mental health issues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has set up the Mentally Fit Helpline, a dedicated, independent and confidential mental health counselling service available to all athletes accredited for the Paris Games. “It’s (mental health) so important for all the federations and IOC to understand. It’s important to understand the mental side, understand how it works for an athlete, understand mental toughness. So, it’s positive step to see mental helpline being introduced in Paris Olympics,” Moudgil said.

“Athletes have spoken in the past about mental health issues. It’s a common issue which needs to be addressed not only for athletes, but in every profession.

“People should respect mental health, and not hide anything. The helpline is a positive step towards admiring mental health issues.” India have named a strong 21-member shooting contingent for Paris Games, which includes many youngsters, including 22-year-old Sift Kaur Samra who will be competing alongside Moudgil in 50m 3p event.

“There are so many strong, young shooters, it really helps me to push my limit. I would have been stuck if I was not pushed. There is high competition in my event, and it really helped me to push. The reason I am here because of the efforts I have put in over the last 3 years,” Moudgil said.

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“I am very positive going into Paris with this young contingent. All of them are confident, the team is doing very well. It is positive for each and every shooter, there is no pressure. My expectation is for everyone to give their best, everyone going with positive mindset.”

Moudgil is counting on her difficult Tokyo experience to shine in Paris. “Competing in one rather than two events both have positive and negative sides, but I am happy. In Tokyo, the environment was different because of Covid. Everything was tentative, we had to appear for Covid test everyday and if you turn positive you are out of the competition. All of these things were disturbances.

“The competition is very high in India and the pressure situations we face during trials will definitely help in Olympics. I just wanted to be my best in trials, the fire to perform in trials and the experience of last 15 years really paid off. These things will surely help me in Paris, the experience of playing in the Olympics is there with me,” she said.

“…we had a different experience in Tokyo because of Covid, we won quotas 3 years before and was waiting as the Games were postponed. But we really don’t discuss too much baggage of Tokyo. It’s just another big competition and that’s what we discuss.”

Shooting competitions of the Paris Olympics will be held at National Shooting Center in Châteauroux, the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France, which is approximately 270km from Paris.

“The preparation is going really well and according to plan. We are Luxembourg for the last phase of our training and preparation before we head to Châteauroux, France on 21st.”