New Delhi: Top pistol shooter Heena Sidhu opened her campaign at the Asia Olympic qualifiers in style, securing an Olympic quota berth for the country en route to gold in the women’s 10 metre air pistol on Day One of the competitions here on Wednesday.
It was Heena’s third international gold in five months, having won the same event at the 8th Asian Air Gun in September at the same venue and in Kuwait at the Asian Shooting Championships.
Heena, who led from start to finish, totalled 199.4 in the eight-women finals to finish ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Tien Chia Chen (198.1) and Gim Yun Mi (177.9) of Korea at the Dr. Karni Singh shooting range.
Heena, the current world record holder, shot an impressive 10.3 in the second last shot of the finals to extend her lead to 1.5 points over her rival from Chinese Taipei.
The Indian ace managed 10 in her final attempt, enough to get her the top prize despite a 10.2 from Tien Chia Chen.
“I was just concentrating on the process. I knew that I was doing well. I was confident that I would win a quota today,” Heena said after the event.
However, the day was not so bright for shooters in the men’s 50-metre rifle prone and women’s trap competitions as none of the home participants could clear the qualification hurdle.
