Mohini Bhardwaj

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Mohini Bhardwaj : biography

September 29, 1978 –

Her performance in the Olympic team finals was integral to the team’s silver medal effort. In addition to improving her vault from preliminaries and putting in a strong floor exercise, when Courtney Kupets decided to sit out balance beam due to a sore leg, Mohini was asked to fill in last-minute. Team member Courtney McCool actually had much more scoring potential, but it had been decided before the competition that McCool’s performances were not needed so she was not prepared to go up on the beam. Bhardwaj got through a clean, well-executed routine that helped the team maintain its standing.http://sepiamutiny.com/blog/2004/08/17/first_indianame/

For her Olympic achievements, Bhardwaj was named the India Abroad Person of the Year for 2004. Rediff, December 4, 2004

After the Olympics, Bhwardwaj joined the other members of the Olympic team on a national exhibition tour. She attempted to continue competing into 2005, and was originally selected for the American Cup in January 2005, but had insufficient training time to be ready and withdrew. She eventually retired from competitive gymnastics later in 2005, at the age of 26.

Early life and career

Mohini Bhardwaj was born on September 29, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents Indu and Kaushal. She has one younger brother, Arun. Bhardwaj’s mother, Indu, is a Russian from New York who converted to Hinduism and who teaches yoga; her father is from India and is a physician in Cincinnati. Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2001 Bhardwaj was raised in the Hindu faith, and is vegetarian. Paul Daughtery, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 15, 2004 Her given name, Mohini, means "the one who mesmerizes" in Hindi.[https://www.usa-gymnastics.org/athletes/bios/women/mbhardwaj.html Mohini Bhardwaj’s official bio at USA Gymnastics] During her gymnastics career, this fact was repeated by commentators in almost every televised competition in which she competed, and eventually became a running joke among gymnastics fans.

Bhardwaj began taking gymnastics classes at the age of four in her hometown of Cincinnati, where she attended Seven Hills School. She excelled in the sport, and, at the age of 13, moved to Orlando to train at Brown’s Gymnastics.

At the age of 16, Bhardwaj’s coach, Alexander Alexandrov, moved to Houston to open a new facility for Brown’s. Bhardwaj followed, without her parents. Arun Venugopal, The Rediff Special, December 8, 2004 Living alone in a Texas apartment, she began to struggle, and her gymnastics suffered from long nights of partying, smoking and drinking. At the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, she finished in 10th place, missing a spot on the team by .075.

Bhardwaj continued training after the Olympics, but at the 1997 U.S. Nationals, NBC commentators noted that she was only competing due to her parents’ insistence.NBC-TV Footage of the 1997 U.S. National Championships, 1997 In spite of her seeming indifferent, Bhardwaj had a strong showing at Nationals, finishing 3rd in the all-around and easily earning a spot on the American World Championships team. At the 1997 World Championships, Bhardwaj was the only American besides Kristen Maloney to qualify for an individual event final, the vault, where she placed fifth.