While team events in shooting involve more responsibility, it is easier on the nerves than individual competition, says Heena Sidhu.
With the ISSF (the World shooting body) now trying out the mixed team idea at smaller events before elevating it to a medal discipline at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Heena and Jitu Rai had won the 10m air-pistol gold in the category at the recent World Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
“Mixed team shooting is less stressful than the individual event. When you are performing for yourself, the focus is on you. When you have a partner, you tend to think less about your own score and more about what you can do together for the country,” said World No. 15 Heena, India’s highest-ranked women’s 10m air-pistol shooter, at an interaction with the media here on Thursday.
Asked if the women shooters were likely to get a kick out of outscoring their male partners in a competition where joint scores are taken into consideration, Heena said: “There is no question of getting a kick out of bettering the male partner. It is about performing as a team; it is useful if both shooters are of a certain level. If the woman is shooting high scores and the man’s scores are low, that can be a problem.”
When asked if their success at Azerbaijan was the outcome of the rapport she had built with Rai during training and tournaments, Heena said: “Jitu is a silent person, an introvert by nature. I am familiar with his shooting, but not so familiar [with him] at a personal level. We may have to train together more frequently to build on the results so far.”
Both have different coaches — Heena trains under her husband Ronak Pandit, while Jitu works with national pistol coach Pavel Smirnov.
Heena also spoke of how the sport is changing with the times. “Shooting is no longer a silent sport where participants compete in isolation. Music was played at the range during the Rio Games. Now the ‘hit or miss’ format has come in to make it easier for fans to follow scoring,” she said, and even chipped in with her own suggestions for promoting the sport.
“I feel if the competition is shifted from the early morning slot to sometime later in the day coinciding with office lunch breaks, the number of fans coming to the range or watching on TV can increase. Every sport needs the numbers to survive,” she said.
