Anjali Bhagwat

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Anjali Bhagwat
Personal information
Birth nameAnjali Ramakanta Vedpathak
NationalityIndian
Born (1969-12-05) 5 December 1969 (age 54)
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Website anjalibhagwat.com
Sport
Sport Rifle shooting
Turned pro1988
Medal record
Women's shooting
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Asian Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 Doha 10 m air rifle team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester Air Rifle (Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester Air Rifle Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester 3P (Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester 3P Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 3P Team
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1999 AucklandAir Rifle (Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1999 AucklandAir Rifle Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1999 Auckland3P(Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2001 EnglandAir Rifle (Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2001 EnglandAir Rifle Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2001 England3P(Individual)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2001 England3P Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2005 MelbourneAir Rifle Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2005 Melbourne3P (Individual)
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1999 Auckland3P Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2001 EnglandAir Rifle Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2005 MelbourneAir Rifle (Individual)

Anjali Bhagwat (born 5 December 1969) is a professional Indian sport shooter. She became the World Number One in 10m Air Rifle in 2002. She also won her first World Cup Final in Milan, in 2003, with a score of 399/400. [1]

Contents

Anjali won the ISSF Champion of Champions award and is the only Indian to win the ISSF Champions' Trophy in Air Rifle Men & Women mixed event at Munich in 2002. She has represented India in three consecutive Olympics, and was a finalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, a first for any Indian women shooter and also the first Indian athlete to make an Olympic final since P.T. Usha in 1984. [2] She has won 12 gold and 4 silver medals in the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Shooting Championships. She is a Commonwealth record holder in 10m Air Rifle and Sports Rifle 3P. In the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, Bhagwat created history by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to get gold and a silver medal in the Sports 3P and Air Rifle events respectively.

To date, she has won 31 Gold, 23 Silver and 7 Bronze medals. She has set 13 new records in international competitions and has won 55 Gold, 35 Silver and 16 Bronze medals, with 8 new records in national competitions in India.

Early life

Anjali Ramakant Vedpathak was born on 5 December 1969, [3] in a Marathi family in Mumbai. [4] Inspired by the legendary athlete Carl Lewis, Bhagwat developed an interest in sports.[ citation needed ] Her first brush with shooting occurred during her stint as a cadet in the National Cadet Corps (NCC). A student of Judo Karate and advanced mountaineering, Bhagwat was very much attracted to NCC. She joined Kirti College in Mumbai mainly due to its close affinity with the NCC. As a part of her curriculum she got into MRA (Maharashtra Rifle Association). She started shooting at the age of 21 and within 7 days of holding a gun, she took part in the National Championship of 1988, winning a silver medal for Maharashtra in the process.

Career

Sanjay Chakravarthy was her first coach. She credits him for her strong fundamentals and basics; instilled over a period of over 5 years.[ citation needed ] She turned pro when she first participated in the National Championships in 1988. She won Silver for her state and continues to play for the Maharashtra team. Her tally of 55 Gold, 35 Silver and 16 Bronze medals in domestic Competitions is unbeaten.

She participated in her first international event in 1995, in the SAF games. Her first international Gold winning performance was in the Commonwealth Championship in Auckland in 1999, where she won 3 Gold medals and a silver medal in Air Rifle, 3P individual and the team event. She is the only woman to have won the World Cup for India.[ citation needed ] She considers her rival Galkina Lioubov (Russia) as an idol competitor.[ citation needed ]

In December 1999, she started training under Laszlo Szucsak, the then coach for the Indian Shooting Team. Bhagwat had personally approached Laszlo after watching his work with the Malaysian Shooting squad.[ citation needed ] The Hungarian remained with the team for a year during which Bhagwat earned a wild card entry in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she went on to become one of the finalists. From 2001 to 2004, Bhagwat trained without a coach, and still managed to become World Number One in 2002.

During the year 2006, Laszlo re-joined the national shooting squad as the team Coach, and Bhagwat trained with him till 2008. In the year 2008, Stanislav Lapidus was appointed the coach by the Indian National Army for the national squad. Many stalwarts of the sport of shooting often rate World Championships higher than the Olympics. Bhagwat has ranked her victory as the Champions of Champions in 2002 as the best moment in her career. She still remains the only Indian to have ever won the title.[ citation needed ]

Competitions

ChampionshipLocationEventScore/RankMedal
Europe Circuit 2007 Hungary Air Rifle ( ind )396Bronze
World Cup 2006 Brazil Sports 3P ( ind )582 / IVQuota Place
Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Sports 3P (Team)373Silver
Commonwealth Championship 2005MelbourneAir Rifle ( ind )398
Commonwealth Championship 2005MelbourneTeam395Silver
Commonwealth Championship 2005MelbourneSports 3P Team573Gold
Olympics 2004 Athens Sports 3P ( ind )575 / XIII
World Cup 2004 Sydney Sports 3P ( ind )583Bronze
Afro Asian Games 2003IndiaAir Rifle ( ind )396Silver
Afro Asian Games 2003IndiaSports 3P577Gold
World Cup Finals 2003 Milan Air Rifle399Gold*
World Cup Finals 2003 Atlanta Air Rifle399Gold*
Asian Games 2002 Korea Air Rifle (Team)396Silver
World Cup Finals 2002 Munich Air Rifle ( ind )399Silver*
Commonwealth Games 2002 England Air Rifle ( ind )398Gold (New Record)
Commonwealth Games 2002EnglandAir Rifle ( Team )398Gold (New Record)
Commonwealth Games 2002EnglandSports 3P ( ind )578Gold (New Record)
Commonwealth Games 2002EnglandSports 3P574Gold (New Record)
World Cup 2002AtlantaAir Rifle ( ind )399Silver (Quota Place )
World Cup 2002SydneyAir Rifle ( ind )397Silver*
Europe Circuit 2002MunichAir Rifle (1st Day)398Gold
Europe Circuit 2002 Denmark Air Rifle (2nd Day)398Silver
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkAir Rifle (1st Day)398Silver
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkTeam396Silver
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkTeam397Gold
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkAir Rifle (2nd Day)399Bronze
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkTeamSilver
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkAir Rifle (3rd Day)Gold (Equaled World Record)
Europe Circuit 2002DenmarkTeamSilver
Commonwealth Championship 2001EnglandAir Rifle ( ind )396Gold (Record)
Commonwealth Championship 2001EnglandTeam582Gold
Commonwealth Championship 2001EnglandSports 3P ( ind )Gold
Commonwealth Championship 2001EnglandTeam(New Record)
Commonwealth Championship 2001EnglandSilver
Olympics 2000SydneyAir Rifle ( ind )394 / VIIFinalist
Grand Prix 2000 Czech Air Rifle ( ind )396Silver
Asian Championships 2000 Malaysia Sport Prone ( ind )588Silver
Asian Championships 2000MalaysiaTeamGold
Commonwealth Championship 1999 Auckland Air Rifle ( ind )398Gold
Commonwealth Championship 1999AucklandTeam571(New Record)
Commonwealth Championship 1999AucklandSports 3P ( ind )Gold
Commonwealth Championship 1999AucklandTeam(New Record)
Commonwealth Championship 1999AucklandGold
Commonwealth Championship 1999Auckland(New Record)
Commonwealth Championship 1999AucklandSilver
Ociana Championship 1999SydneyAir Rifle395Gold
SAF Games 1999 Nepal Air Rifle ( ind )396Gold (New Record)
SAF Games 1999NepalTeam568Gold (New Record)
SAF Games 1999NepalSports 3P ( ind )574Gold (New Record)
SAF Games 1999NepalTeamGold (New Record)
SAF Games 1999NepalSport Prone ( ind )Silver
SAF Games 1999NepalTeamBronze
SAF Championship 1997 New Delhi Air Rifle ( ind )Gold
SAF Championship 1997New DelhiTeamGold
SAF Championship 1997New DelhiSport Prone (Team)Silver
SAF Championship 1997New DelhiGold
SAF Games 1995 Madras Air Rifle (Team)Bronze
SAF Games 1995MadrasSports 3P ( ind )Silver
SAF Games 1995MadrasTeamGold

Equipment and sponsors

Bhagwat uses a Feinwerkbau, a German-made rifle for her Air Rifle events. For 10m she prefers a Feinwerkbau while for 50m she uses a .22 Walther.

Bhagwat's first kit was gifted to her by Bollywood actor and a fellow shooter, Nana Patekar in 1993. She was officially sponsored by the Hinduja Foundation in 2000, and later by the Mittal Champions Trust in 2008. Hyundai Corporation also supported her training prior to 2004.

Awards

Rajiv Gandhi Khel-Ratna (2003) [5]
Arjuna Award (2000) [6]

Personal life

Bhagwat has two siblings; a younger brother Rahul and an elder sister Neena. She is a tennis and cricket enthusiast. Yoga and meditation form a large part of her daily routine. Her mother sang for AIR (All India Radio) while her sister is a singer too. An avid reader, she enjoys fiction.

In December 2000, she married Mumbai-based businessman, Mandar Bhagwat. The couple has a son named Aaradhya born in 2010. In 2006, she shifted her base from Mumbai to Pune due city's better sporting facilities. Bhagwat is currently coaching six shooters in Pune, for which she also utilizes her own range. The 10m range is a part of her house and she usually practises there.

She has promoted sports through associations with Sahara and Reliance. Bhagwat was vastly appreciated for her participation in India's bid for hosting Commonwealth Games 2010 alongside sporting legends like Sunil Gavaskar.

Bhagwat was a part of the Bournvita Quiz Contest as a special guest. She was also a part of the expert panel on CNN-IBN during the Commonwealth Games in 2006 and 2010. She featured in the Hero Honda Sports Awards, 2007 where she sang and danced impromptu with former Indian cricketers Vinod Kambli and Ajay Jadeja. She has also been the subject of inspiration for many including a noted writer and columnist, Shobha De, who dedicated her column to Bhagwat after their interaction at an award ceremony.

She has been on the government selection panel for some of the top notch sports award, both on state & national level such as Shiv Chatrapati Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharaya Award. Apart from this she has done a guest appearance in Marathi film Bokya Satbande . She has walked ramp twice for fashion designer Vikram Phadnis.[ citation needed ] She has been teaching blind students.[ citation needed ] She regularly writes for different newspaper and magazines.

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References

  1. "Anjali Bhagwat | Indian rifle shooter". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. "Trailblazer 2000: How Anjali Bhagwat sparked India's shooting stars". ESPN. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Anjali Ramakant Vedpathak-Bhagwat". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. Chitra Garg (2010). Indian Champions: Profiles of Famous Indian Sportspersons. Rajpal & Sons2010. p. 267. ISBN   9788170288527.
  5. "Anjali, Beenamol to share Khel Ratna". expressindia.com. Press Trust of India. 23 August 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. "Anjali Bhagwat". National Rifle Association of India. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.

[1]

  1. "About Anjali Bhagwat". fundook.io. Fundook. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2022.