Anjum returns to National shooting team with renewed energy
After keeping a low profile for some time and being a bit detached from a sport that had kept her occupied for about a decade, Anjum has reclaimed the hunger to excel.
'I feel fresh and like a newcomer in the team,' said the 31-year-old Anjum, who has competed in the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris.
Quite accomplished ever since she won the World Championship silver medal in air rifle in Changwon, Korea (2018), Anjum realised that she had been far too obsessed with shooting in the Olympics in the last two cycles.
'I have been doing minimal training before the National Championships and the National Games. I was still shooting well and won medals. I did well in the trials and could have competed in the World Cups earlier, if not in the main team. I chose to step back and focus on a few things that have been pending for a long time,' revealed Anjum.
She utilised the time and all her savings, along with her husband Ankush Bhardwaj, to set up a dream project, Archon Fitness, a gym with a shooting range and other sporting facilities in Mohali.
'It is the only gym with a shooting range in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, the Tricity,' said Anjum, happy to have set up a dream project that provides a holistic fitness and recreation facility for everyone.
Experience is a great teacher, only for those who are willing to learn. Anjum is a fine student of sport and life. Being a practitioner of the Art of Living, Anjum immerses herself in meditation and has learnt to live in the present. There is no reverse gear to retrace the past, and no acceleration to visualise the future.
'It has been great to take the mind off shooting and focus on so many other things. It has been a very good learning experience, tackling so many aspects. I have stopped thinking too far ahead. The focus is to stay in the moment and do one's best. After the Tokyo Olympics, we tuned to Paris quickly, because the time was also short. Now, I focus only on the current competition. We will think about Los Angeles in 2028,' she said.
Relaxed
With plenty of achievements and medals, both in air rifle and rifle 3-position events, Anjum is quite relaxed about her shooting. Years of diligent training have tuned her technique nicely. With an uncluttered mind, she can shoot very well, even with limited preparation.
Even though two World Cups have finished already, there is plenty of action left in the season, with the Asian Championship and the World Championships lined up, along with another World Cup, before the Shooting League of India (SLI).
Anjum is confident of fine-tuning her shooting to match world standards and lend the best possible support to the Indian team that is already quite dominant in the international arena.
Anjum had won the mixed air rifle gold in Munich in 2019, and is ready to paint fresh memories to her rich collection.
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