Anjum Moudgil Reveals Secrets to Indian Shooting Success in Paris Olympics & Role of Mental Strength

Oneindia

In an exclusive conversation with Oneindia's Kangkan Mahanta, Indian shooter Anjum Moudgil opens up about her journey in the world of shooting and the mental fortitude required to excel at the highest levels, including the upcoming Paris Olympics. She shares insights into the importance of emotional control, the role of strength and conditioning in preventing injuries, and how India's shooting landscape has evolved with the availability of more ranges and facilities.    #AnjumMoudgil #Shooting #Olympics #ParisOlympics2024 #MentalStrength #IndianShooting #GoSportsFoundation #Paris2024 #ShootingSuccess #AthleteInterview #SportsMentality #Inspiration                 ~PR.274~HT.318~GR.344~

Transcript

00:00Hello a very warm welcome to all the viewers of my KLN1 India. I'm your host today Konkan Mohanta

00:07and today we have with us one of the stalwarts of shooting in India, a former world number one in

00:13the 50 meter three positions rifle, a former world number two in 10 meter rifle, two times

00:20silver medalist at the world championship, gold medalist at the commonwealth games, multiple times

00:26medalist at the commonwealth games shooting championships and also recently she represented

00:32India at the Paris Olympics. Thank you so much for coming in Anjum Motgil. Thank you so much.

00:36Such an honor and privilege to have you with us. Thank you so much. I'm really excited to

00:41you know interact with you. Thank you. Yeah so I mean the Paris Olympics is still

00:48kind of fresh in our memory still and you have been part of a contingent which again you know

00:54made us proud in terms of winning medal. So how has been your experience overall because stakes

01:00were very high because we expected medals as usual from the shooting team and how was the

01:06overall experience you know the pressure, the joy of representing the country again. In fact it's

01:11your second Olympics so just take us through your journey. Surely Paris Olympics was very different

01:18if I compare it with Tokyo because you know qualifying for Tokyo took me like I qualified

01:25for Tokyo three years prior to the game and then the games were postponed so there was a lot of

01:31ifs and buts going into Tokyo Olympics and also there was you know so many different covid tests

01:40done. You never know you know you come out positive and you miss out on your game so there was

01:44a lot of uncertainty but you know going into Paris was a I would say a dream after Tokyo and

01:54I still remember you know as soon as I came back from Tokyo all I wanted was to

01:59be there in Paris. I think the next time I'll be thinking about winning in the next year.

02:04This time I was just wanted to go to Paris, did not have that winning in mind and it

02:11changed later but yeah Paris was fun. It was a very different games for shooting because we

02:17were not staying in the games village. We were three hours away from the main city and but I

02:24would say if I see shooting performance there was a lot of I would say a good pressure on shooting

02:32sport because you know last two Olympics we did not win any medal and you know and also the media

02:38is covering shooting now so well so you always want to you know prove everyone that okay our

02:45sport is something that does good in all the other competitions but in shooting in the Olympics can

02:51also do well and I'm so happy that three of our shooters won medals and it was just like a relief

03:01for us especially for the shooters who were there in Tokyo because once we came back it was

03:07consecutively second Olympics of not winning medals and there was a lot of backlash a lot of

03:13negative comments happening through media from people around and different places but I think

03:21that's why it took many of the shooters who were there in Tokyo really couldn't recover from that

03:27phase and but I was happy that a couple of us was were there in Paris and one of us who was

03:35there in Tokyo and Paris won the medal so yeah I'm really glad that shooting won the maximum

03:42medals in Paris Olympics and I'm part of such an amazing sport and I'll continue to

03:49work harder to you know bring laurels to the country. Sure you will why not yeah so now that

03:56this happened to be a second Olympics after Tokyo so I guess the nerves kind of settled down a

04:02little bit because Tokyo was the first experience Covid time you know so I think by now you're kind

04:07of more experienced in terms of handling pressure because Olympics is no smaller environment right?

04:14Yes of course I just you know as a beginner I was always excited to know how you know the

04:21players who are preparing for Olympics how do they you know control their nerves how do they feel

04:27one night prior to the event how do they sleep but once I was in Tokyo I was very excited to

04:33experience the same the caution that I had for many years but I was so happy to have a good sleep

04:39because I know I knew that you know everything that is required I have done that and there's

04:45nothing new I should do now just follow my routine and I was able to have a good sleep and do

04:51you know a good preparation in terms of my match and yeah and same in Paris I think I had

05:02set a routine I was practicing that and I was very happy that mentally and physically I was so much

05:08in control there was no high pressure even if there was a bit of high heartbeat the pulse was

05:14higher I knew how to get it down through different exercises I had been doing from last couple of

05:20years so I was very much prepared and I was very happy I could see myself there you know being very

05:28calm at an Olympic event shooting my best and also you know in between I lost couple of points

05:35in my match in prone position but then getting back stronger and finishing the match so I think

05:42it was like a roller coaster starting well going down ending well but I think

05:49yeah handling pressure I tested myself during the Olympic trials that happened in India that was one

05:56of the most difficult events I would say for me to actually make it to the Olympic team because

06:02I did not win the quota and I was not really doing well last year so getting back there was a task and

06:09I was extremely happy to be part of the team by you know doing good in the selection trials

06:15so I tested myself in those trials rather than in the Olympics true sure now talking about nerves

06:22I mean unlike sports like tennis or volleyball you know we see athletes fist thumping I mean

06:30chest thumping and fist pumping sorry and in between winning points but I guess shooting is a

06:35total different ball game right I mean between rounds you just can't be doing that even even

06:40though your adrenaline might be on a high so I think it's a totally different ball game when it

06:46comes to shooting and archery when it comes to calming your nerves throughout the match no matter

06:50how good you are doing right and how do we approach yes of course yes yeah I think the biggest thing

06:57that I have learned through shooting sport is having control on my mind and body I think none

07:04no other thing in the world really teaches you that unless you play a sport or something that

07:08you do with your body so I'm really glad I am in this field where I've had that control on my

07:14emotions and particularly in shooting I think we are such so calm and patient most of the time when

07:22we are shooting that we really can't show our emotions outside you know even if you're very

07:27aggressive you are not liking something you're just hating it or you're just not loving the way

07:33you shoot you have to be very calm and if you're really excited you're shooting amazing and then

07:39you are so happy that everything is going there again you have to be really really calm so I think

07:45it's all and I think that is the reason why people consider shooting a little bit boring because

07:51there's no expression on our faces and that has become a habit that even when we are in normal

07:57life our face looks like a very straight face and people are really scared of us

08:03but at the same time I think it's such an amazing sport that challenges you mentally so much that

08:11in life it has really helped me to handle my emotions. Very interesting point that you made

08:16because you all practice so much and you know day in and day out and with that kind of demeanor that

08:23you have that you need to have you know the exterior self or whatever you know trying to

08:27calm your nerves throughout so meaning which when you are 60 to 70 percent of your time like that so

08:33obviously that becomes like a habit as a process even in your real life right I mean so I guess

08:40shooters in real life by nature are cool and calm people. Not mostly but some of us are some are very

08:48outgoing and happy but I mean while shooting they can really have good control but it's not

08:55something that is really mandatory to start shooting it's something that can really help

09:00you if you already have you know if you're already a calmer person it might just help you

09:05a bit more but if you have that good control even if you're outgoing and extrovert and you know

09:11not that calm you can always do that while playing so that's not the I mean basics that

09:19are required. Talking about now of course skill and the mental aspect matters so much in shooting

09:27but I guess the physical aspect is also so much underrated for the typical audience who do not

09:32know that there are a lot of injuries that happen in shooting right because day in and day out when

09:37you have to you know shoot from a rifle that is as heavy as a rifle you know and that too over so

09:42many rounds and practices trainings so I guess a lot of back pain shoulder you know issues stuff

09:48like that so in that case I think shooters also go through a lot of strength and conditioning

09:53which a lot of us may not know as to what goes behind into making a shooter you know it's not

09:58only about a skill and the mental aspect but also I guess a lot to do with physical aspect also right

10:03yes of course I mean when I started there was this you know a myth around that you should not

10:10really train in the gym or pick weights because it will you know your muscles will be bulky and

10:17then you might not have that good stability and all but for many years some of us believed it

10:23but you know once I had an injury in my shoulder where I was not really able to lift my arm and

10:30also a lower back injury because we are in a posture standing for a long time where it really

10:36hurts if you do not strengthen your back and we have in our prone position there is a lot of

10:43pressure on the shoulder and we have to train for a couple of hours so it's like keeping one muscle

10:51under pressure for a long time so it really breaks it down and some if you are weak if your muscles

10:57are weak you might injure yourself so when I got an injury back in 2013 that's when I actually

11:05started working on my physical health through therabands so someone suggested to get a surgery

11:10but I was like no let me just work on myself and I was young I was very young so I just started out

11:18working with the athletes in Chandigarh with athletic coach so I used to you know be there in

11:25the grounds at 4 a.m and you do sprinting and a lot of running and then a lot of theraband

11:31exercises for strengthening and a lot of tennis and I think that really helped me to strengthen

11:38my muscles and that's where my fitness journey started and I have made sure that I continue doing

11:45it and then now we have seen a drastic change through help of you know many physical trainers

11:51who are there with the team and also many seniors who have really understood how important gym

11:59and you know this training physical training is be it in the gym or outdoors so now I think

12:06they're mostly around you know 90% shooters do train for many hours for physical training based

12:15on stability, balancing and endurance where we have to stand for a long time and then

12:22each and every muscles needs to be strengthened so yeah we have to really break it down to

12:28minute muscles and work on them. Oh my god shooting has evolved so much right over the years

12:35yes it surely has. Now talking about the I mean Indian shooters it's kind of legendary you know

12:42I mean right from Gagan Narang to Avinar Bindra to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Vijay Kumar

12:53and to now Manu Bakar and you all I mean the list will go on I'm so sorry I missed out so many of

12:59them you know yes so what is I mean what is that one thing that really clicked you know at some

13:06point of time that really made India what we are today in terms of shooting you know because whenever

13:11there is the Olympics whenever the Asian games shooting is the first discipline that okay we'll

13:17afford okay shooters to hang you know that kind of a mindset that we have so what do you think

13:23really worked well for us all of a sudden you know that we are currently in this such a healthy

13:28position. I think firstly Rajyavardhan Singh sir's medal but Abhinav Bhaiya's gold medal really

13:37changed the face of shooting everyone knew what shooting was everyone knew who Abhinav Bindra was

13:45so I think because of him we were really able to make people like tell people that okay this is

13:51the sport we play because when I started way back in 2007-2008 many people didn't know what

13:59shooting was they thought we are going for a camera shooting or something like that

14:03but telling people that we are going for the same sport what Abhinav Bindra plays I think

14:08it made us so so easy for us but I think that is one milestone for the Indian shooting that

14:15changed the face of the shooting sport in India and after that I think medals by Gagan Bhaiya,

14:23Vijay Kumar and you know all these medals have really changed the way people look to the

14:30shooters in the Olympics and obviously we could get good recognition in the Commonwealth Games

14:36and the Asian Games so that is something that is always there because people I don't know but in

14:42India you know people consider those games much more than the Indian like the World Shooting

14:47Championship because for us the World Championships are much more important but I think for some

14:54sports India just considers only the Asian Games, Commonwealth and the Olympics as the most

15:00important events. So I think Abhinav Bindra's medal was a changing point for Indian shooting and

15:08now you know after Tokyo everything everyone was talking about shooting and all that you know the

15:16people are winning in all the other competitions but the shooters are not winning in Olympics so

15:20it was a different story but all thanks to Manu, Sarabjot and Swapnil for changing that script and

15:27now there is a very positive noise around the shooting fraternity and people who want to start

15:34the sport. Great, sure and I mean you also have been associated with the Go Sports Foundation

15:45quite a long time, sorry I also missed out a little bit in this just in connection to what

15:50you said about shooting. So I guess a lot of us would have started our first shooting with

15:56NCC right which I guess is a little bit underrated at times because it's during NCC

16:02time that you know a lot of people would have held their first rifle right so I think those

16:08kind of grassroot things would also have helped shooting over a long period of time things like

16:12NCC stuff like that you know. Yeah earlier you know only the forces had the weapons and

16:19ammunition because no one else had that money to get that money to import the weapons so

16:26NCC has really helped me. I mean I think I'm here just because of NCC because my mother introduced

16:34my mother introduced me to shooting just because she was part of shooting sport through NCC

16:39so I think that is the reason I'm here today and also my coach Dipali Deshpande she was an NCC cadet

16:46Anjali Bhagwadidhi was an NCC cadet, Suma Shidur, I think all of them have really

16:51come up because of NCC and I can't really think about anyone else from that time who has started

16:59on their own so NCC has played a major role in the people who are there in this sport today

17:06and also the forces have really helped you know way back in couple of years they were only the

17:11forces who were doing great because they had funds to you know purchase the weapons and ammunition

17:17so only because of these forces and NCC paramilitary forces as well CISF BSF they

17:25also have a couple of teams so I think it was only them but now because shooting has been now

17:32it's vastly spread across different cities and villages in India each and every village in

17:39please in Haryana, UP and you know many other places everyone can go to a shooting range just

17:46like a 10 minutes or an half an hour drive so I think it's the change we have seen and

17:52yeah so now I would say people can really do shooting without the help of the forces but

17:59if I see it like seven to eight years ago it was very difficult to start on your own.

18:06That's great news that you know it has become so very accessible even to a general mass

18:12in general because that really creates an ecosystem right it's not only about winning

18:15medals but creating an ecosystem in itself is what is so important in creating the champions

18:20in the long run right yeah yeah of course yes now down the line of course I think Go

18:26Sports Foundation also had helped you a lot in your career and so can you tell us a little bit

18:32about your association in Go Sports as how it really helped you in nurturing your career in

18:38the long in the long run yeah I was selected in Go Sports I think way back in 2013-14

18:48or I think 12-13 and that was when I was still a junior and not really I didn't really win

18:55too many medals at the international level but I was somewhere there at the top and they just

19:01selected me and I have been with them and that they were the reasons I was able to buy my own

19:06weapons because earlier for five to six years with the NCC I was only shooting with the weapon

19:14that was shared among like five to six shooters one kit was shared among three four shooters so

19:20I was just using that and doing well and then also playing some internationals

19:27but only because of Go Sports I was actually able to buy my own weapon because

19:32it's really required when you want to do better and you know go into that precision so I'm

19:39and I can never be thankful enough to Go Sports because they are with me since then and now still

19:46they are with me and there have been so many ups and lows and I cannot imagine anyone helping us

19:52through the lows as much you know there's so many people around when you're doing good but very few

19:59are there to support you when you're not doing good and I think apart from Go Sports there's

20:04no other federation I can think who can or a foundation I can think who are always there

20:09through your lows even the low if it's for one or two years they're still there so I think I'm

20:15just so so I feel so proud to be part of their family and it's been around 12 years now

20:22I just boost about it that I'm part of the Go Sports family and

20:25all the equipment travel expenditure everything is done through them

20:31wow that's a great association yeah right so now you actually got two disciplines

20:38mostly 50 meter three positions and 10 meter rifle so how do you actually manage both the

20:44things because this time you of course represented in terms of 50 meter you know a rifle before that

20:50you were also very much part of the 10 meter rifle so how do you actually decide as to more in

20:54decision how is that you divide your time between these two discipline you know because these two

20:59disciplines are totally different because one is three 50 meter position where you've got three

21:04different positions right prone knee and then standing so how do you actually divide your time

21:11between these two in a typical scenario where you have to train for both yeah so now I would say I'm

21:19sort of took a break from air rifle when I was selected for three position in the Olympics but

21:26in Tokyo I was playing both events and even after that for a couple of competitions I

21:33qualified for Tokyo through air rifle but I was in the main team in three positions so that has

21:40been always there you know one one event has always helped me in the other the stability

21:45we need in air rifle really helps me in three position standing and the patience that is needed

21:51in one helps me in the other so I think it's just like they complement each other and then

21:57it just when you are when you are in your training period you just know how to manage and balance the

22:04time and you know either you train for one event in the evening or divide your morning training

22:12sessions for both the events so I think it just goes hand in hand but you should know what you

22:17want and it's very much manageable and it's always good to do both because sometimes if you're just

22:25too tired of any one event you always have something else to look forward to and I always

22:30believe that there should not be only one thing that you're doing which always you should have

22:35something extra and fun so that you whenever you get back to your main event you have something

22:41new when you go back so yeah rightly said yes wow what a journey so Anjum can we have a few

22:52rapid fire rounds now sure so a lot of people do not know that you are actually a great artist too

22:59I mean in fact you know you take your painting very seriously right yeah so who is your favorite

23:06painter there were so many to choose between yeah I mean I have always admired art even if

23:17it is not of any famous artist and so in Chandigarh you know there was my friend's father

23:27Rajendra Sharma sir he was a professor in art college in Chandigarh and he used to come to

23:33our school to take some classes for art and that's when I really admired that how with just one pencil

23:41or how with just one color he would make so many different shades and you know draw something and

23:47I really fell in love with art even more so I think I've really admired him and also you know

23:53there have been so many great artists worldwide but there's no one in particular but I think I just

24:00overall enjoyed the experience of painting and then experience of when people like my painting

24:06so I think it's just out of my calmness and my curiosity to paint something it just I enjoy it

24:13more rather than rather than the artists right yeah no I mean just oh it was a it was a rapid fire

24:21sorry no no he explained in paragraphs no but corroborating to what you said shooters are

24:30generally so intellectuals I mean apart from shooting for example we've got Manu Barker who

24:35reads a lot of books I think he also plays the violin right if I'm not mistaken she plays it

24:39right yeah likewise we've got somebody like Abhinav Bindra whom I can listen throughout

24:45you know he talks so much sense he just you know talks through of course Rajyavan Vardhan

24:52Singh Arthur he is really revolutionized you know Indian sports ecosystem when you're the sports

24:58minister so to say he's also kind of an intellect sort of you know the way he used to represent

25:03before the media and stuff like that then you being a painter I know it's really great I mean

25:08it's not only about what you're doing you know as a profession but as a backup that

25:15really shows the depth that shooters have in general you know apart from shooting yeah that's

25:21really great yeah so tomorrow if you have to wake up and God you know it's a hypothetical situation

25:26tells you that okay you have got two options either you can paint a painting just like

25:33uh Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa or maybe or also uh the other option is that win a gold medal at

25:40the Olympics which one will you choose obviously winning a gold medal at the Olympics I can still

25:47paint after winning the medal I can paint but first I'll need a medal that's a good yeah true

25:55true uh of course uh like you already discussed we have had so many legends in shooting which

26:03one shooter you think really revolutionized the entire ecosystem of shooting here in India

26:08I mean we've got so many I mean it'll go on and on uh I mean but I think if you talk about uh

26:15the biggest change I would say it was Avinash Bhaiya and Gagan Bhaiya both they are like

26:22the biggest names I would say in shooting yeah but I think now for the next couple of decades

26:31now Manu would be there and some people might not know uh later about couple of them but uh

26:38I would say Avinash Bhaiya and Gagan Bhaiya yeah great great you being from Chandigarh

26:44Chandigarh is known for food uh they're also very lively people dance and all that so what's your

26:49favorite food uh I think anything in street food I really really love uh it can be

26:59chaat papdi my go-to uh go-to street food because my family likes it too so

27:06tikki chaat papdi is good uh

27:10chole bhature are very tasty

27:16thank you so much Anjum uh it is such a fascinating journey that uh you have explained

27:22to us in such a nice manner and uh we can only see you uh shooting yourself into more and more

27:27glory not only for yourself but also for us we're very selfish enough to ask more from you

27:32and uh thank you so much for coming in and we can only wish you all the best and you'll only

27:37get better from here and uh looking forward to you and your journey and we'll be closely you know

27:43following you again uh in in times to come you deserve a good rest now and I'm sure you'll be

27:48back uh you know at your best in the coming competitions and uh all the best for your

27:53future journey thank you so much thanks a lot Anjum thanks thank you

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