CWG 2018: Tracing Heena Sidhu’s gold route at Commonwealth Games

This was a part of the ‘pressure training’ sessions Pandit had devised for her, to make sure she wouldn’t get distracted or lose concentration during a match. “The taunts got very personal and we wanted it that way,” Pandit says. “I want her to be so strong that when she goes to events like the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Olympics, she will tell me that there was hardly any pressure there.”The training worked out well for the 28-year-old at the ongoing Commonwealth Games. Two days ago, Sidhu won silver in her pet 10m air pistol event.

But on Tuesday, the former World No 1 won her first gold medal at a major in the 25m pistol event— that too by setting a Games record in the final. As such, she became the first Indian in the current competition to win a second medal.The scoring pattern in the final of the 25 m pistol is measured with a simple hit or miss. A hit however, would be considered for a shot that would otherwise measure to a difficult 10.2 or above.

Five shots make up each of the gruelling 10 series, each being divided by a mere 15 second break.”That’s not much time. So if something goes wrong, there is no scope to refocus,” Pandit says.Yet given the rules drawn, Sidhu shot an impressive 38 hits compared to the 35 second placed Elena Galiabovitch managed (the world record is 39 set by Olympic gold medallist Anna Korakaki).For the depleted field of shooting nations present at the Commonwealth Games, India has always been a strong contender in the pistol and rifle events.

Nuancing photography
Though Sidhu had reached the top of the shooting charts in 2013 when she became the first Indian to win the World Cup Finals, in recent years she has been in a slump.Failure at the Rio Games in 2016 was followed by a barren run, save for the gold she won with Jitu Rai in the mixed 10m air pistol event at the World Cup in Delhi last year. Preparation for the Commonwealth Games, meanwhile, began with Sidhu skipping the World Cup in Mexico and took a two-week hiatus from the sport altogether. A brief vacation in Goa was followed by a trip to the Ranthambore National Park, where Sidhu experimented with her new hobby in wildlife photography.

“She had done her research about cameras, narrowed it down to one, rented it and we went for the trip,” says Pandit. “She went to Patiala to meet her parents. We basically checked all the boxes and did things she wanted to do to keep the mind fresh so she doesn’t get sick of training.”

Once the couple got back to Pune, work began on strengthening her core muscles to prepare her for the gruelling finals. Then there were the sessions when Pandit would pound her with taunts.Sometimes we used to end up arguing and fighting at the range,” he says. “Obviously, you’re human, so there’s only so much cr*p you can take.”

It did help her finish third in the qualifying round. But in the final, she was mentally the strongest.In the fourth series, Sidhu was trailing Galiabovitch by three points but followed it up by hitting a perfect five in the next two rounds to level the score. Thereon, it was all about holding her nerve and taking her shots. And she did so comfortably, winning gold by three whole shots.

The final of the 25 m pistol event was tense, but it might have been easier for Sidhu, with her coach-husband was shouting words of encouragement from the sidelines, instead of the usual rant.