After ending her UCLA career, Bhardwaj returned to elite competition. At the 2001 National Championships, she won the vault title and placed third in the all-around. She was named to the American team for the
2001 World Championships in
Ghent, Belgium, where she contributed to the U.S. squad's bronze medal. Individually, she placed 18th in the all-around and 7th in the vault event final. Off the national team and running low on funds, she took odd jobs, such as waitressing and delivering pizzas, to pay for her training and personal expenses. By 2004, she was in debt and could not afford to attend the Olympic Trials and other competitions.
Baywatch star
Pamela Anderson, who learned of Bhardwaj's situation when she purchased a raffle ticket on her behalf, became a personal supporter and gave Bhardwaj $20,000 for her training expenses. At the 2004 Nationals, Bhardwaj placed a disappointing 12th in the all-around, only securing the final spot in the Olympic Trials when
Ashley Postell fell on bars. But she went on to finish sixth at the Trials, earning an invitation to the subsequent closed-door selection camp. There, she impressed national team coordinator
Márta Károlyi and the other selectors enough not only to earn a place on the team, but to be named its captain. Her strength and consistency on vault were expected to add balance to a team already formidable on
beam and bars, but at the Olympics, she placed 20th on vault and failed to qualify for the event final. Bhardwaj was the only American to qualify for the floor final at the Olympics, where she finished in sixth place. She finished eighth all-around in qualifying, behind teammates
Carly Patterson (1st) and
Courtney Kupets (4th), but was not among the 24 gymnasts to advance because of a rule limiting each country to two competitors in the final. Bhardwaj was the only gymnast in the top ten in qualifications who did not make the all-around final. In the team final, however, she was integral to the team's silver-medal effort: In addition to improving her vault from preliminaries and performing a strong
floor exercise, she filled in on beam at the last minute when Kupets decided to sit it out because of a leg injury. For her Olympic achievements, Bhardwaj was named the India Abroad Person of the Year for 2004. After the Olympics, Bhardwaj joined the other members of the U.S. team on a national exhibition tour. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 2005, at the age of 26. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2015. ==Eponymous skill==