Anjali Mandar Bhagwat, a contemporary Indian shooter by profession, is famous for monitoring 10 min Air Rifle. She became the World Number One in 10m Air Rifle in 2002.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat is considered to be one of the greatest Indian women athletes of all time. Anjali Mandar Bhagwat won her first World Cup Final in Milan, in 2003, with a score of 399/400.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat was born as Anjali Vedapathak on 5 December 1969 in a Marathi Daivadnya family in Mumbai (Maharshtra). She was deeply inspired by the legendary athlete Carl Lewis. Anjali Mandar Bhagwat developed her interest in sports. She started her career as the cadet in the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat started her shooting career at the age of 21. After that, she took part in the National Championship of 1988. There she won a Silver Medal for Maharashtra in the process. Sanjay Chakravarty was her first coach. She credits him for her strong fundamentals and basics; instilled over a period of over 5 years.
The greatest sports moment of Anjali Mandar Bhagwat was the winning of ISSF Champion of Champions Award. She is the only Indian to have won the ISSF Champions" Trophy in Air Rifle Men and Women mixed event at Munich in 2002.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat has represented India in three consecutive Olympics. She was a finalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. This was the first for any women shooter in India.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat has won 12 gold and 4 silver medals in the Commonwealth Games. Anjali Mandar Bhagwat is a Commonwealth record holder in 10m Air Rifle and Sports Rifle 3P. In the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, Anjali Mandar Bhagwat created history by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to grab gold and a silver medal in the Sports 3P and Air Rifle events respectively.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat has won thirty one gold medals, twenty three silver medals and seven bronze medals in the global competition. She has set thirteen new records in International competitions and has won fifty five gold medal, thirty five silver medals and sixteen bronze medals, with 8 new records in national competitions in India.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat was a student of Judo Karate. She is also trained in advanced mountaineering. Anjali Mandar Bhagwat was very much attracted towards National Cadet Crops. Anjali Mandar Bhagwat joined Kirti College in Mumbai (Maharashtra) mainly due to its close affinity with the National Cadet Crops.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat participated in her first worldwide event in shooting in the year 1995, in the SAF (South Asian Federation) games.
The first international Gold winning performance of Anjali was in the Commonwealth Championship in Auckland in 1999. There she won 3 gold medals and a silver medal in Air Rifle, 3P individual and the team event.
Anjali Mandar Bhagwat is the only woman to have won the World Cup for India. She considers her adversary Galkina Lioubov (Russia) as an ideal contestant.
