Hannover, May 15: Focusing on the path of success and galore, Ace Indian shooter Heena Sidhu secured the gold medal in the 10 metre air pistol category of the international shooting competition of Hannover, marking a strong build-up to next week’s ISSF World Cup in Munich.
Heena was in a carefree form in the final where she was tied with France's Mathilde Lamolle on 239.8 points. She won the tie to win the gold ahead of Mathilde. While Shri Nivetha finished on 219.2. After beginning with a series of scores in the 9s, Heena switched gears and scored 10 and above steadily 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 gold.
After initially fighting for the 3rd-4th position, Heena 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.
The Munich World Cup (May 22 to 29, 2018) will be Heena's second major competition after her twin medal success at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the World Cup in South Korea.
Heena had won gold in the 25-metre sports category in Gold Coast and a silver in her pet event, the 10-metre air pistol.