Shooting is all about a zen moment, when everything goes still and nothing exists but the bullseye. Anjum Moudgil is used to those moments now, after 10 years spent at shooting ranges in Delhi and Chandigarh. “It is a struggle to learn how to control your body, and to have the required strength, stamina and endurance,” says the Asian Games 2018 gold medallist, sitting in the gallery of the Dr Karni Singh shooting range in Delhi.
Those daunting hours of gazing at the target have paid off; a clutch of awesome records is hers: a world record, a Commonwealth Games record, and an Asian Games record, all in the 50-metre, three-prone position event, her favourite. Anjum, whose mother, an officer in the National Cadet Corps, first introduced her to shooting, has no regrets about the gruelling process. “Struggle is needed and is important to achieve anything. I love making records,” she says. In between all of this, she acquired a master’s in sports psychology, too. In her 50-metre, three-prone position event, she has to shoot 40 times in each position, and every pull of the trigger is a resolution, a reach for glory.
She’s inspired by the biographies of Indian shooting legend Abhinav Bindra and former tennis champ Andre Agassi, Anjum says, “There is so much to learn from everyone.”
Photograph: Tarun Vishwa
Styling: Rahul Vijay
Hair and make-up: Blossom Kochhar College Of Creative Arts And Design
Assisted by: Pujarini Ghosh (Styling)
Location courtesy: Amazon Fashion Studios
On Anjum: Wool jacket, Rs. 45,235, Bodice
