Maria Sharapova admirer and part-time painter, Anjum Moudgil eyes Olympic medal after ISSF World Championship success

The normally unflappable Anjum Moudgil was showing signs of nerves in lead up to the World Championship.  After a silver in the Commonwealth Games, the rifle shooter had a barren run in the two World Cups and narrowly missed making the final in the Asian Games.  Before reaching Changwon, her coach Deepali Deshpande received a couple of desperate messages from Anjum and her reply to her protégé was a simple “darr mat**".**

To stress on the point, Deepali typed ‘darr mat’ thrice in her whatsapp message because the only thing that could derail Anjum’s flawless technique was the fear of failure. But during the 10m air rifle event at Changwon’s International Shooting Centre, Anjum was a picture of confidence qualifying for the final in the fourth position. Her scores improved in the final round as she even took a slender 0.1 point lead after 12 shots. Anjum could not hold on to her lead and eventually finished second which was good enough to earn her a quota place for the Tokyo Olympics. She also kept her tryst with history becoming the first Indian woman shooter to win a World Championship medal in the 10m air rifle. “World Championship was one event that I was really focussing on right from the start of the year as Olympics has always been my long term goal,’’ Anjum told Firstpost from Changwon.

“We now have two years to prepare for Tokyo which is a huge advantage. Abhinav Bindra had won the world championship in 2006 in Zagreb which gave him lot of time to prepare for the Olympics in Beijing where he won the historic gold medal,’’ coach Deepali said.  Apurvi Chandela also bagged a quota place for Olympics by finishing fourth in the same event

The workload on Anjum has been immense since the World Cup in Mexico in March which was followed by the Commonwealth Games and World Cups in South Korea and Munich. The world Championship in Changwon was preceded by the high profile Asian Games in Indonesia.

In the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, Anjum could not make it to the Indian team for the 10m air rifle. In the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Anjum had taken part in the 50m 3 position (3P) rifle event and 50m prone rifle events finishing second in the 3 positions competition behind Tejaswini Sawant. In the Asian Games, Anjum was on the verge of qualifying for the final of the 3P event before a series of poor scores in the standing position saw her make a surprise exit. “I always enjoy taking part in more than one event. It reduces the pressure of performing in just one event and one good showing in a particular event rubs on to the other,’’ Anjum added. In the World Championship, Anjum has been participating in 10m air rifle, 3P and 50m prone.

Anjum’s first major success in the senior grade was at the Commonwealth Championship last year where she won two medals in both 10m air rifle and 50m rifle prone. She has not looked back racking up impressive scores. “The secret of her success is her uncluttered mind. Her thought processes are very linear. She has this unique trait of shutting herself from the outside world, completely insulating herself from criticism or praises,’’ coach Deshpande analysed. “Recently she has been inspired by the biography of Maria Sharapova, Unstoppable-My Life so Far- and she has been sharing certain portions of the book with me on how to bounce back when the chips are down,’’ Despande added “We share a very close bond as she was one of my first trainees.’’

Anjum credits Deshpande for transforming her career. She took charge of the junior rifle team in 2012. “She has a great eye for details and she is able to read my mind and understand what is troubling me if I am struggling with my scores,’’ Anjum said.

Anjum is pursuing a course in sports psychology though her duties with the national team has meant the Chandigarh girl has not been able to attend too many classes. “The course has helped me to focus on certain mental aspects of the sport of shooting. I have also picked up important lessons on injury management and ideal relationship of an athlete and a coach,’’ the shooter revealed.

When not training her guns in the shooting range, the 24-year-old is busy with her canvas and paint brush. A professional artist, she has started selling her works. “It started as a hobby to take my mind off the sport. But soon it grew on me. My first work was painting a café for a friend in Delhi and it got noticed. And this inspired me to take it up more seriously.’’

Anjum has been lavish with her gifts to Deshpande that consist of her paintings and artifacts designed by her. However,  her coach will not be satisfied with anything less than an Olympic medal. “Going by her current performance, she is right up there as a strong medal contender,’’ feels Deshpande.

Indian shooters drew a blank in the last Olympics in Rio but the early quota places bagged by Anjum and Apurvi have raised medal hopes for Tokyo.