Learnt my lesson from rifle malfunction at CWG, says silver medallist Moudgil

Satisfied with the silver-medal effort in women's 50 metre rifle 3 positions in her maiden Commonwealth Games (CWG), rising shooter Anjum Moudgil said she has learnt a lesson from the setback in the 50m rifle prone event where she was let down by malfunctioning equipment.

The 24-year-old claimed that her rifle broke down midway through the event, but Moudgil said she did not lose her focus despite finishing a disappointing 16 in 50m rifle prone.

"I faltered in one event, there was some problem with my rifle. Some part of it was loose which I realised midway. It was my mistake too but couldn't help as it happened midway. I had a terrible day," Moudgil told IANS here.

"Everything happens for good, this is a good lesson for me personally. Next time before every match I will make sure everything is in place and not let the opportunities slip out of my hands," she added.

The Chandigarh shooter, however, showed great resilience while making fine recovery in the 50m rifle 3 positions event, where she topped the qualification stage by shattering the CWG qualifying record by a significant margin.

Moudgil, who entered the Games on the back of a silver-winning performance at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico last month, scored 589 (196 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 194 in standing) to ensure she finished at the top in the qualifying stage.

"I managed to keep the focus the next day. I shot really well in the qualification, which was also my personal best score and also the Games record. Winning a medal in that event was really good as I had to overcome the setback from the other event," she said.

"I was very focussed and I just had to keep myself calm. I was with myself before and during the match. I prepared really well for the competitions, and I knew that it was not my mistake it was just the technical glitch in the rifle," she added.

When asked how difficult it is to maintain the same amount of dedication and focus in two different events, Moudgil candidly said: "It's not that difficult. I actually like participating in more than one event."

"If it's just one event, it gets boring for me. I like playing all the events and hope to get selected in all my three shooting events. That keeps me going," she quipped.

Speaking of her goals in the season ahead, she said: "I am going to (South) Korea next for the air rifle and rifle 3 positions World Cup for which I am really prepared and then the World Championships. I am really keeping an eye on that and the Asian Games."

"All these World Cups and the Commonwealth Games were a nice experience for the major events coming up this season," she concluded.

(Tridib Baparnash can be contacted at tridib.b@ians.in)

--IANS

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