Anjum Moudgil has battled inner demons and mental fatigue to bounce back and excel in the 3P trials for the Paris Olympics.
Everyone worships the rising sun, not the setting sun. If you examine the career of rifle shooter Anjum Moudgil since 2022, she has experienced a whirlpool of emotions. Amidst these emotions, she rose to the World No. 1 ranking in 2022 but then lost form and focus. Her turmoil began, though perhaps the only positive event for this 3-Position (3P) shooter in that year was getting married.
On Saturday, nearly 24 hours after she performed well in the final trial in Bhopal, ensuring her spot on the flight to Paris 2024 to represent India in the 3P event alongside Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum opened up to RevSportz.
There was a pause at both ends, uncertain how to begin. Shooting had become a maelstrom for Anjum Moudgil, who had represented India in the Tokyo Olympics and was considered a strong medal prospect then. Three years ago, Indian shooting faced a crisis, culminating in zero medals and marked by numerous issues, including a poorly planned pre-Olympic camp in Croatia.
When an athlete is loaded with emotions, it’s best to be a patient listener as an interviewer. Yes, making the grade for Paris 2024 had become an obsession for Anjum Moudgil. “If I rewind to the time after Tokyo, once it sunk in, I started dreaming about Paris. It was sheer craze, sheer obsession, just to get to Paris. Maybe that’s where things started going wrong for me. Facing that situation alone, experiencing dejection and rejection, and coming back so strongly in these four Olympic trials, I have reinvented myself,” a strong Anjum told RevSportz.
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Rewind to 2022 and 2023; those were dark years for Anjum Moudgil. “I had mental health problems, yes, I did. I had to consult experts in Bengaluru. Looking back, the biggest lesson I learned was spending time with myself to gather myself. So, when I started going all out in the trials, I knew I had got that winning sequence back,” said Anjum.
Is mental health a serious issue? “Yes, it was a serious issue, but I am the thinking type. I knew what I had to do to get back on track. Performing poorly in the World Championship in 2022 and then worse in 2023, my world seemed to have ended. I was not selected for the World Championship and the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. It was make or break for me,” said Anjum. This statement made it clear she was fighting her own battle against inner demons.
Break point? No, she was and is a strong woman, someone who believed in herself, someone who sensed a window of opportunity when the NRAI came up with a selection policy. Four trials, best of three to count—all Anjum had to do was dominate the field and not worry about which shooters had won quotas.
“Let me take you back to 2023, when I had to spend my own money to go to an ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Those selected for the Asian Games, Asian Championships, and other events were busy. I reached out to the NRAI to let me go to Rio at my own cost. I needed to compete,” explained Anjum.
Imagine the sudden feeling of loneliness for a shooter who was once highly praised, now out of the mix. “I think I should now only talk about the right things I have done and who has supported me. There is no bitterness inside me. I am back to being my best, as these trials in New Delhi and Bhopal have shown,” said Anjum.
Shooters emphasise a lot on technique. “I was doing things myself. When you are down and out, it gives you time to think very maturely. I worked on my technique and then consulted coach Manoj Kumar Sir. He has helped me, and now I am in the best shape,” pointed out Anjum.
Had she stopped enjoying shooting and much more in life during the dark days? “It’s easy today to look back and think about what went wrong. I have been a passionate painter, and when I stopped painting, it was not good. I loved painting, and stopping explains my state of mind. I got back to painting and shooting. These trials have shown I am in the right frame of mind. Perhaps I had to face a slump to get back to where I am and excel in the Olympic trials,” said Anjum.
When the NRAI introduced the concept of four trials for the Paris Olympics, it seemed overwhelming. RevSportz spoke to nearly a dozen shooters and coaches, and there is consensus that the trials have helped identify the shooters in top form ahead of Paris 2024 in July.
For a shooter like Anjum Moudgil and a few others, these trials have been more than a lifeline. They have restored belief and shown they can make the cut, despite two difficult years. As a cerebral shooter with a Master’s degree in sports psychology, Anjum Moudgil never imagined she would become a case study herself!