After shooting silver, Anjum says Haryana,Chandigarh did not back her

CHANDIGARH: For Anjum Moudgil, the silver medal winner at the International

Shooting

Sport Federation

World Cup

in Guadalajara, Mexico, nothing came on a platter. The 23-year-old was forced to shift her loyalties to Punjab after not getting enough attention by the Haryana government and the Chandigarh administration. She used to represent Haryana at one point of time, then appeared for Chandigarh, but now turns up for Punjab at the nationals.

“I did not get any support or incentive from the Haryana government or the UT administration. So, I decided to play for Punjab,”

Anjum

told TOI while speaking over phone from Guadalajara. “I think the authorities in Haryana and Chandigarh do not consider shooting to be a big sport, and that’s why my achievements did not matter to them,” she said.

Back home in Sector 37, happiness of Shubh Moudgil, Anjum’s mother, knew no bounds when Colonel M S Chauhan, the first coach of the shooting prodigy, called her up at 2 am and broke the news of her daughter winning the medal. “I woke everyone up in the house. No one in the family could sleep afterwards and we have been up since,” Shubh told TOI.

Continuing her good form from where she left at the national championships, Anjum has been consistent over the past couple of years. She has also implemented the increased shots quota for women shooters. “It is fun to shoot 120 shots. When you are in the zone, the number of shots you take do not matter,” Anjum said. The World Cup behind, Anjum has her eyes set on the Commonwealth Games to be held in Gold Coast, Australia.

Initially, Anjum was a pistol shooter; but non-availability of pistols at NCC forced her to switch to rifle shooting. It was a blessing in disguise.

“I started with pistol shooting, but when I joined the NCC in school in 2008, there were only rifles available. At the insistence of

Col Chauhan

, I experimented with rifle shooting and found it more interesting,” Anjum said, adding, “I don’t know whether I would have been able to reach this far, if I was stuck with pistol,” she said.

Anjum suffered a setback in 2014, when she injured her backbone and left shoulder while training with a heavy rifle. Thereafter, she underwent a three-month rehabilitation at her house in Chandigarh.

Though, she got an offer to represent the railways in 2011, but she turned it down at the behest of her mother. “She was too young at the time,” her mother said.

Deepali Deshpande, a former Olympian and the present coach of Moudgil feels that Moudgil has stamped her authority and now possesses the fervour to keep winning the medals. “When a shooter’s growth is gradual, they seldom commit any error because they have learned the ways to take the game patiently— one step at a time.”

Anjum was discovered by Deepali from the junior national team in 2013. Thereafter, there was a major shift in technique and weapon of the ace markswoman. “She used to carry a heavier weapon which hampered her technique and rendered her prone to injuries. I told her to change weapon which brought about a drastic improvement in her within a few weeks,” she added.