Anjali Bhagwat (Shooting)

Anjali Bhagwat is a professional Indian shooter. Bhagwat was born on December 5, 1969 in a Marathi family from Mumbai. 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. 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.

Bhagwat has two siblings; a younger brother and an elder sister. She is a tennis and cricket enthusiast. She is a self-confessed foodie and her favorite foods include fish, tandoori chicken and red wine. Austria is her favorite destination and she has visited the country on many occasions. 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.

Inspired by the legendary athlete Carl Lewis, Bhagwat developed interest in sports. 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 towards 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.

In December 2000, she married Mumbai-based businessman, Mandar Bhagwat. The couple has a son named Aradhya 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 practices there.

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.

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. During the year 2006, Laszlo re-joined the national shooting squad as the team Coach, and Bhagwat trained with him till 2008. 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 win the title.

Awards:

Awards	Year
Shree Shiv Chattrapati Award	1992
Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar	1993
Vasantrav Naik Pratisthan Puraskar	1993
Arjuna Award (Sports)	2000
Indo-American Society Young Achiever Award	2002
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna	2003
Times Group Maharashtra Shaan	2003
Hero Indian Sports Award – Best Sportswoman	2003
HISA Sports Woman of the Year	2003
HISA Shooter of the Year	2003
HISA Shooter of the Year	2004
Great Women Achiever’s Award	2005
Teacher’s Achievement Award	2005
FIE Foundational National Award	2006