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What's the story?
Star Indian shooter Anjum Moudgil has shared that she is 'very confident' of doing well at the quadrennial extravaganza.
The background
Anjum Moudgil is a highly acclaimed Indian shooter. The 26-year-old has many achievements to her name. A few of these include a gold at the 2016 South Asian Games, a Silver in 10m air rifle at the 2017 Commonwealth Shooting Championships, a Silver in 50m rifle 3 positions at the 2018 CWG, and a Silver in 10m air rifle at the 2018 World Championships in Changwon, South Korea.
Moudgil became the first Indian shooter to secure a berth for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics thanks to her World Championships Silver medal in 2018.
The heart of the matter
The Chandigarh-born shooter is excited ahead of Tokyo Olympics 2020 and confident about her preparations and contributing to India's Olympics 2020 medal tally. She hopes to represent the nation in multiple Shooting events but that is something that is not in her control.
Regardless, she will be the favourite for 50m rifle 3 positions as it is her strength and also try to make the cut in 10m air rifle.
Speaking on her preparations and road to Tokyo, Moudgil told IANS:
"I am super eager to shoot both the events. I would love to. I dream of shooting both the events. I don't really think about going just for one event or whatever it is as that is not in my hand. I can give my best in all the competitions I play."
Speaking on the sidelines of the High-Performance training camp that was conducted at Inspire Institute of Sports, Moudgil added:
"I always loved three positions because it was more challenging than any other event. So I used to enjoy it and still do. Maybe I was much more better in three positions before 2018 than air, but all my individual medals are in air right now. So, it's not like I was bad at it before, but maybe not there at the top. However, since 2018, everything changed and everyone around me is like comparing my three positions and air. It's just two events. It's just that three positions need much more training and air is just one thing."
Anjum also shared that she has been focusing more on air rifle after securing the Olympics quota whereas earlier she used to compete just 'for fun.'
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) had purposely kept the star shooter out until the upcoming ISSF World Cup so that they could maximise the number of quota places. Anjum had already procured the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) for 50m rifle 3 positions and 10m air rifle and is eligible to shoot in these events at Tokyo.
Anjum, who is also an abstract painter and also holds a Masters degree in Sports Psychology, signed off by saying:
"I don't know what to expect, but I surely know how to go about in big games. Commonwealth Games was a very good example and a learning as a game. So I think I am prepared. I have seen so many videos and experiences from everyone around about how everything is at the Olympics. I am really looking forward to it. It's something every athlete dreams of. I am ready to give my best because what we shoot there, its like what we are doing from last 10 years."
What's next?
In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Moudgil will be hoping to do well at the ISSF World Cup that is slated to begin in Delhi on March 15.
