Heena wins gold

Hannover (Germany), May 14

Heena Sidhu clinched the gold medal while compatriot P Shri Nivetha settled for bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol at the International Shooting Competitions of Hannover ahead of next week’s ISSF World Cup in Munich.

Heena was in a rollicking form in the final where she was tied with France’s Mathilde Lamolle on 239.8 points. She won the tie-breaker to win the gold medal ahead of Mathilde. Shri Nivetha finished on 219.2.

For Heena, the gold marks a strong build-up to next week’s ISSF World Cup in Munich. After beginning with a series of scores in the 9s, Heena switched gears and notched up 10 and above consistently to break away from the field. Her second series produced consistent 10s and she even hit a perfect 10.9 in the elimination round to put herself in contention for the gold.

After initially fighting for the 3rd-4th position, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games gold medallist Indian scored a 10.9 on her 13th shot in the final to take the lead and then held her nerve till the end. Heena qualified for the final in the fourth place scoring 572 while Shri Nivetha topped the qualification with a total of 582. “I am feeling good with how my training is shaping up. Of course, it’s not perfect but we are moving in the right direction so it’s just a matter of time,” said Heena after her gold medal win. 

The ISSF Munich World Cup will be held from May 22 to 29 and will be Heena’s second major competition after her twin medal success in Gold Coast and the World Cup in Korea. — PTI