South Asian Games: Chandigarh shooter claims her first gold medal in senior category
For the last two years, Chandigarh shooter Anjum Moudgill had to finish with a silver medal behind gold medallist Elizabeth Koshy in the 50 M Rifle 3 Position event in the Senior Nationals Shooting Championship. On Saturday, however, the 22-year-old shooter shot her way to her first gold medal in the senior category in an international event with a score of 452.2 in the final in the 50 M 3 P event edging behind Koshy, who shot a score of 451.9 in the South Asian Games being held in Guwahati.
Moudgill who shot a score of 580 in the qualification was leading the final after the first round of Kneel position but slipped to second spot in Prone position. Moudgill then shot an excellent Standing position to claim the gold medal. Seasoned shooter Lajja Goswami finished with the bronze medal. Moudgill also won the team gold medal for India with Koshy and Goswami in the same event.
“I have been finishing with silver medal for the last two years in the 3P event behind Elizabeth. And that makes today’s gold medal worth the wait. The conditions were windy here in Guwahati today but I managed a good score in the qualification round. Elizabeth is a good shooter and we train together in the national camp. And to win a medal under the new format means a lot to me. It will also help my overall score in the Olympics trials event to be held later this year,” said Moudgill, who is a student of MA Psychology first year at DAV College, Chandigarh, and also trains at the Panjab University Shooting Range.
Moudgill’s first national medal came in the form of a gold medal in the 50 M Prone event in the junior category in the All India GV Malvankar Championship in 2008. The youngster also won the silver medal in 10 M air rifle event in School Nationals held in Pune.
Moudgill won eight medals in different categories in junior category in the 54th Shooting National Championship in 2011 apart from winning four gold medals and one bronze medal in the same championship in 2012. In the team events, Moudgil was part of the Indian junior team which won two silver medals in the Asian Championships in Doha in 2012 and three medals in Asian Airgun Championship in Iran in 2013. In 2014, Moudgill won the silver medal in the 50 M 3 P event with a score of 445 in Senior National Shooting Championship apart from winning a total of eight medals in the same championship in 2015.
“Taking part in the junior as well as Asian Championships also gave me exposure to compete in different conditions and the team medals in Doha and Iran boosted my confidence a lot. Also, the medals in 10 M Air Rifle event mean a lot to me. Even though I mostly compete in 50 M, I do not want to give 10 M Air Rifle a miss. My coach Deepali Deshpande has been very supportive and whenever it suits us, I train in Delhi for a month or two,” said Moudgill, whose father Sudershan Moudgill is an advocate.
Moudgill was also accompanied by Indian shooting coach and Panjab university coach Daleep Singh Chandel who believes that Saturday’s performance will help the youngster in future. “This gold medal is a morale booster for a youngster like Anjum. It comes ahead of the Rio Olympics trials and this score will count in the format. To leave shooters like Koshy and Goswami behind and win the gold will help her a lot mentally. Both the shooters are seasoned shooters and Anjum showed that she is also not behind. A score of 580 in qualifying round is always good and that helped her today,” Chandel said over the phone from Guwahati.
