Aiming for a podium finish at the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024, former World No.1 rifle ace Anjum Moudgil has moved on from the setbacks of the nightmarish outing three years ago in Tokyo, and utilised her time wisely during the period she was out of the national set-up before roaring back to form in the final Olympic trials to aim for another shot to glory in the French capital.

The Paris Olympics, starting July 26, will be the 30-year-old Anjum’s second appearance at the Summer Games after the Tokyo edition, where she competed in 50m rifle 3 positions and 10m air rifle mixed team event and finished 15th and 18th, respectively. Anjum, however, will be seen participating in only the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event in Paris.

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The Chandigarh-based shooter was out of the national set-up for a good part of the last Olympic cycle due to inconsistent form, which meant she missed the World Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games, but Anjum took it it her stride and worked on improving her mental toughness besides focussing entirely on her training.

“Three years after Tokyo was a roller-coaster ride for me. I have seen tough times but I wanted to come back stronger. The experiences of Tokyo will surely be 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 it through to the team after I didn’t make the team for the World Championships and the Asian Games because of just 2 points in the trials.

“I was too focussed and positive in giving my best in the trials. I knew my strengths and how to work under pressure and it paid off. Exactly one year after Tokyo, I went on to win a few medals at the World Cups and rose to the World No.1 spot, and things started working for me again. During that time, I started working on my mental training, and it really worked out positively. I’m trying to carry that positivity to Paris,” she added.

Banking on her experience

The 2022 World Championships silver medallist said that her 15-year experience in the sport has come in handy during the trials, which she counted as one of the toughest, and wants to take the confidence forward.

“The competition is very high in India and the pressure situations we face during trials will definitely help in the Olympics. I just wanted to be my best in trials, the fire to perform in trials and the experience of the 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.

In contrast to Tokyo, where she was a part of two events, Anjum will be competing only in the 50m Rifle 3 positions this time.

“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 turned positive you were out of the competition. All of these things were disturbances,” she said.

Mentally Fit Helpline

Appreciating the International Olympic Committee’s efforts in setting up the Mentally Fit Helpline, a dedicated, independent and confidential mental health counselling service available to all athletes accredited for the Paris Games, Anjum spoke in detail about the importance of mental health not only for athletes but in all aspects of life.

“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, and understand mental toughness. So, it’s a positive step to see a mental helpline being introduced in the Paris Olympics,” she 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,” she added.

An avid painter, Anjum said she has restarted painting, something which went off her routine during the period where she focussed too much on her shooting.

“Now it (painting) has again become a part of my shooting routine. It was something which I was missing out during that phase,” she said.

Team bonding in shooting

India have named a strong 21-member shooting team for the Paris Games, including 22-year-old Sift Kaur Samra who will be competing alongside Anjum in 50m 3p event. Crediting the youngsters for giving her a run for her money, felt that the stiff competition helped her push her limits to eventually earn a Paris berth.

“There are so many strong, young shooters, it really helps me to push my limits. 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 is because of the efforts I have put in over the last 3 years,” Moudgil said.

“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 a positive mindset,” she added.

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

The Indian contingent, currently in Luxembourg for the last phase of training and preparation, will head to Châteauroux on July 21.