In the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, Bhagwat created history by becoming the first Indian woman shooter to get gold and a silver medal in the Sports 3P and Air Rifle events respectively.

[4] Inspired by the legendary athlete Carl Lewis, Bhagwat developed an interest in sports.

She started shooting at the age of 21 and within 7 days of holding a gun, she took part in the National Championship of 1988, winning a silver medal for Maharashtra in the process.

[citation needed] In December 1999, she started training under Laszlo Szucsak, the then coach for the Indian Shooting Team.

Bhagwat had personally approached Laszlo after watching his work with the Malaysian Shooting squad.

[citation needed] The Hungarian remained with the team for a year during which Bhagwat earned a wild card entry in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she went on to become one of the finalists.

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

Bhagwat's first kit was gifted to her by Bollywood actor and a fellow shooter, Nana Patekar in 1993.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel-Ratna (2003)[5] Arjuna Award (2000)[6] Bhagwat has two siblings; a younger brother Rahul and an elder sister Neena.

Bhagwat was vastly appreciated for her participation in India's bid for hosting Commonwealth Games 2010 alongside sporting legends like Sunil Gavaskar.

She featured in the Hero Honda Sports Awards, 2007 where she sang and danced impromptu with former Indian cricketers Vinod Kambli and Ajay Jadeja.

She has also been the subject of inspiration for many including a noted writer and columnist, Shobha De, who dedicated her column to Bhagwat after their interaction at an award ceremony.