NRI, Gymnast Bhardwaj selected for the August Olympics.

LOS ANGELES, JULY 19, 2004

At 25, Mohini Bhardwaj, sociology major from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was on Sunday selected for the August Olympics. She was selected after five days of training at the Olympic team selection camp at the Women's National Team Training Centre near Huntsville, Texas.

She qualified for the US championships, where she was placed 12th, to earn the final Olympic trials spot.

At the Olympic trials in Anaheim, Mohini stole the show with an inspired sixth-place effort and went on to shine with grace and style.

At the Texas selection camp, Mohini continued to post impressive scores at two mock meets, earning 9.8 points on the vault - her favourite event - in the first competition and earning 9.45-plus scores on the other three events.

A former All-American at UCLA who received $20,000 from Pamela Anderson to fund her training, Bhardwaj made a compelling bid for a spot in Athens at Olympic trials over the weekend. She finished in sixth place and earned an invitation to next month's selection camp, where team coordinator Martha Karolyi will fill the final four spots on the six-woman team.

This is fantastic," said Anderson, who spent Sunday in the gym, holding up the "Go Mo" signs that became a staple during Bhardwaj's sterling career at UCLA. "She deserves it. This sport usually ends for women at such a young age. But she's 25 and she's still doing great."

When she was 15 - the age most top-flight female gymnasts are thinking about the Olympics - Bhardwaj was considered one of the great young hopes for the American team. But she shuffled cities, shuffled coaches and started feeling like a piece of meat.

She grew disenchanted, pretty much gave up on her Olympic dreams. After a third-place finish at nationals in 1997, it looked like her career, at least on the world stage, was over.

Even when she enrolled at UCLA that year, she felt like she was just going through the motions. Then, a turnaround

Because NCAA rules limit the amount of training - about four hours a day instead of the eight or nine most world-class gymnasts put in - Bhardwaj realized she could still be a good gymnast without having to sacrifice her entire life to get there.

She wound up an 11-time All-American at UCLA and won national titles in floor exercise and uneven bars. She set the UCLA record with eight perfect 10s, and led the Bruins to two national titles.

2000 — Claimed her first NCAA individual title by winning the uneven bars with a score of 9.95 … Runner-up in the all-around at the NCAA Championships with a score of 39.575 and on beam with a mark of 9.9 … First-team All-American in the all-around, vault (fifth-place), bars (third consecutive year) and beam … Ended the season hitting 23 consecutive routines, with a 9.806 on vault at event finals as her lowest score in that span … Took the Region 1 all-around, bars and beam crowns … Won the Pac-10 all-around, vault and floor titles … Became the first gymnast in Pac-10 history to earn all-conference honors on all four events and the all-around … Tied the Pauley Pavilion all-around record with a pair of 39.725s … Set Wooden Center all-around (39.7) and bars (9.975) records … Set Bruin Classic records on bars (9.975), beam (tied, 9.9) and all-around (39.7) … Super Six Challenge bars winner … Bruin Classic all-around, bars and beam champion … Finished the regular season ranked first nationally on bars, second in the all-around, sixth on beam, 10th on vault and 12th on floor … Averaged over 9.8 on all four events, including a team-best 9.86 on bars and 9.806 on beam … Averaged a team-high 39.431 in the all-around, with three scores of 39.7 or higher and eight scores of 39.5 or higher … Led the team in individual wins with 29 … Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week Jan. 18 … UCLA/Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers Female Athlete of the Month in January … Two-time MET-Rx/UCLA Student-Athlete of the Week (Mar. 27-Apr. 2, Apr. 10-16) … Tied her career-high on vault with 9.95s at the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA Team Prelims … Twice set new career-highs this season on bars (9.975) … Scored three career-high tying 9.925s on beam and also tied her career-high with a 9.95 on floor.

1999 (USA Gymnastics) — Earned a berth on the USA’s World University Games squad by placing second at the trials … Qualified for the all-around finals at the World University Games with a preliminary score of 36.225 (14th place) but was unable to compete due to an elbow injury … Her highest mark at the games was a 9.35 on vault.

1999 — Earned first-team All-America honors on bars and placed eighth with a 9.875 at event finals … Earned second-team All-America acclaim in the all-around with an 11th-place score of 39.275 … Scored a season-high 9.9 on bars at Day One of the NCAA Championships … Was slowed by an elbow injury that kept her out of five meets but returned to score a then-career-high 9.925 on floor in her first meet back on that event … Went all-around for the first time at Regionals Apr. 10 and scored a career-high 39.375 to place fourth … Her first bars routine in three months resulted in a third-place score of 9.875 at Regionals … Recorded career-highs on beam (9.925, second place) and floor (9.95, second place) at the Pac-10 Championships … Of her eight meets on floor, she placed in the Top 3 five times and averaged a team-high 9.838 … Averaged 9.858 on vault … Placed first on vault with a career-high tying 9.95 vs. Georgia Jan. 10 … Won the all-around, vault and bars in the Bruins’ season opener at Cal State Fullerton.

1998 — Earned first-team All-America honors on vault and bars … Scored a career-high 9.95 on vault on Day One of the NCAA Championships … Also scored a career-high 9.925 on bars on Day One of the Championships … Tied for fourth on bars at the NCAA Event Finals with a 9.85 … Placed seventh on vault at Event Finals with an average score of 9.5625 … Scored a pair of 9.875s on bars and floor in her collegiate debut at Georgia … Suffered an ankle injury Feb. 5 and was out of action until competing on bars Feb. 27 at Washington … Scored UCLA's top mark at that meet with a second-place score of 9.85 … Placed in the Top 5 on bars in eight meets … Averaged a 9.861 on bars … Scored a 9.9 on bars at the Pac-10s to tie for third … Returned to action on beam at Pac-10s and scored a career-high 9.85 to tie for fourth … Competed for UCLA at Regionals on vault for the first time since January, as well as on bars and beam … Averaged a 9.702 on vault.

Club — Six-year national team member who placed third at the 1997 U.S. Championships to qualify for the World Championships team … Took fifth-place on vault at the World Championships, the highest finish for an American on that event since Kerri Strug placed fifth in 1992 and the highest placing by any US gymnast that year … Won the all-around and vault crowns at the 1996 Pacific Alliance Championships in Malaysia … Placed 10th at the 1996 Olympic Trials … Finished second on beam, fourth on vault and bars and sixth on floor at the 1996 National Championships … Won the all-around, vault, bars and floor and placed second on beam at the 1996 Capital Cup … Swept all four individual event titles at the 1996 Buckeye Classic and placed second in the all-around … Won the vault at the 1995 Atlanta Gymnastics Invitational, the pre-Olympic event at the Georgia Dome … Competed on the gold medal team at the 1995 Olympic Festival and won silvers on vault and beam … Runner-up on bars at the 1992 Junior Nationals … Coached by Rita Brown and former Soviet national team coach Alexander Alexandrov at Brown’s Gymnastics from 1993-97 … Trained at Queen City Gymnastics from 1982-92 under coaches Gary Warren and Pat Jones Warren.

Personal — Name means “illusion” in Hindi … Favorite apparatus is vault … Hobbies include reading and dancing … Describes her biggest athletic thrill as qualifying for the 1997 World Championships … Parents: Kaushal and Indu Bhardwaj … Has one younger brother, Arun … Full name is Mohini Bhardwaj … Born September 29, 1978 in Philadelphia, PA … Sociology major.