Anjum Moudgil, one of the country’s most promising rifle shooters, is less than a month away from facing one of the biggest challenges of her career so far. The Chandigarh girl has been selected in the Indian squad for the ISSF World Championship to be held at Granada, Spain, from September 6. The tournament will be the 20-year-old’s first World Championship, where she, along with Elizabeth Susan Koshy and Priyal Keni, will aim for medals in the Rifle 3 Position and Rifle Prone events under the junior women’s category.
“My preparations for the championship are going well. There is not much pressure as I have encountered similar high quality competitions at previous international outings,” said Anjum while talking on phone from Delhi, where she is practising for the championship.
Anjum, who studies in BA (final year) at DAV College-10, further added, “I have just procured a new rifle and have been spending almost six hours practising with it which is helping me to keep the nerves in check.”
Anjum, who was introduced to the sport by her mother, Shubh Moudgil, herself a former university level shooter, initially started with pistol shooting. But when she (Anjum) joined the NCC in school in 2008, there were only rifles available.
“I then experimented with rifle shooting and found it more interesting. From that day, pistols became passé” the shooter shared.
Anjum’s first major break came in 2009 when she won the team bronze in the 50m prone event in the National shooting championships held in Kerala. There was no looking back after that, and she has won over 60 medals in different national level events so far. She recently bagged a silver medal in the 50m 3-position rifle event of the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship last June.
Anjum has also tasted success in the international ranges: She has won a total of seven medals in 10 internationals tournaments, which include Asian Championships and World Cups.
Anjum’s first major break came in 2009 when she won the team bronze in the 50m prone event in the National shooting championships held in Kerala. There was no looking back after that, and she has won over 60 medals in different national level events so far. She recently bagged a silver medal in the 50m 3-position rifle event of the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship last June.
Anjum has also tasted success in the international ranges: She has won a total of seven medals in 10 internationals tournaments, which include Asian Championships and World Cups.
“Earlier my target was only limited to winning medals in the nationals. However, since two team silver medals came my way in the Asian Championship in Doha 2012, my focus has completely shifted. Now, I want to be in the senior squad as soon as possible and win medals for India in the Olympics,” she said.