Former World No 1 Anjali Bhagwat upbeat on India's shooting scene, thanks to upcoming youngsters

Ace shooter Anjali Vedphatak-Bhagwat believes that the country has a bright future in the sport because of the new bunch of shooters who are performing consistently well. “Now it (the shooting scenario) in the country is positive because all the youngsters have taken their respective places in the senior category,” Anjali told PTI after receiving an award at the ET Edge Maharashtra Achievers’ Awards 2019 supported by Femina late last night. [caption id=“attachment_6269861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image from last month’s Shooting World Cup in New Delhi. Image: Firstpost[/caption] Anjali, a former Commonwealth champion who was World No 1 in 10-metre air rifle, reasoned that the young shooters are giving consistent scores. “The youngsters are giving consistent scores in competitions like the World Cup, World Championship and even in a stressful event like the Asian Games where all top-level shooters from China and Korea are present. “They dominated it and we have won almost all the medals in all the events in ladies and gents rifle and pistol category. So we have a bright future in shooting and are keeping our fingers crossed for the 2020 Olympics,” she said. India’s Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela have already booked their places for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. To these two and the phenomenal young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, Anjali’s advise is they should keep their preparation on the same track as of now. “We have already got two entries in air rifle. Anju Modgil and Apurvi Chandela are in extremely good form. Even Saurabh (Chaudhary) is shooting unbelievably well. “If they keep their mental attitude or the preparation on the same track (then) we really can count on medals in the (2020) Olympics,” she added. She also praised Maharashtra’s Rahi Sarnobat and advised her to focus on her technique. “Rahi is a mentally strong shooter. She had a very bad injury in the past two years. Overcoming that injury and again taking the top place in the Indian shooting team and winning gold at the Asian Games - the first (woman) shooter (from India) to win a gold medal (in Asian Games) -is commendable,” Anjali said. “She is mentally strong and has to focus on the technique and should not think about the end product - whether she will get the quota or the medal. She should focus on technique and performance,” she said. “Her preparation is professional and is going on the right track,” the veteran shooter concluded.