CWG 2018: Heena Sidhu wins gold in 25M Pistol

Gold Coast, April 10: India mined their first gold on Day 6 of the Commonwealth Games from the shooting range as Heena Sidhu registered a Games record 38 points to bag the top spot in the 25M Pistol here on Tuesday (April 10).

India started the day on a disappointing note as eight-time CWG gold medallist Gagan Narang finished 7th in the 50M Air Rifle and his compatriot Chain Singh ended up on fourth in the same event.

MEDAL TALLY

They were India's medal hopes in that event and the disappointment of their failure now has washed away in the golden hue of Heena. However, Annu Singh, who also competed in the 25M Pistol, failed to make it to the podium.

Absolute World class performance @HeenaSidhu10 👏 You were the undisputed winner today. ⭐

GOLD 🥇in 25m Pistol 👏 🇮🇳

Congratulations @CoachRonak @OfficialNRAI @Media_SAI Great great work! pic.twitter.com/cZNgJE8XZD

— OGQ (@OGQ_India) April 10, 2018

In the 25M Pistol, Australia's Elena Galiabovitch took silver with a shot of 35 and Malaysia's Alia Sazana Azahari settled for bronze.

Ahead of the CWG, Heena, a former world No 1 in Pistol section, had said the Games was very important for her as a stepping stone for bigger stages like Asian Games and the Olympics.

"These Games are important -- CWG and Asian Games give you a heads up to Olympics. It's a very important year and the biggest challenge for me is the World Championship," Heena said.

Big congratulations to the CHAMPION @HeenaSidhu10. What a brilliant performance to win GOLD in the 25m Sports Pistol event. Congrats to @CoachRonak who is just doing an outstanding job for Indian shooting behind the scenes. @OGQ_India @GC2018 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gf04hGkrE0

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) April 10, 2018

Heena added, "Training is going very well and we have accomplished a lot. It is a stepping stone for the rest of the tournaments, especially the World Championship."

Heena's had a wonderful 2017 when she bagged three gold medals and another at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships.

Paired with Jitu Rai, she won the 10M mixed team air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Delhi, the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol series in Gabala, Azerbaijan, and ISSF World Cup final in Delhi.

Congratulations #HeenaSidhu for the gold in women's 25m pistol. #GC2018 #GC2018Shooting

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) April 10, 2018

Individually, Sidhu won a gold medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships and bronze medals at the 10th Asian Championship and the Grand Prix of Liberation Plaza Shooting Championships in the Czech Republic.

Nothing motivates us better than these #Golden mornings!#ThankYou @HeenaSidhu10 on winning us our latest Gold 🥇from #GC2018Shooting Women's 25m Pistol Finals! Many #Congratulations on the new #GamesRecord you have to your name. No doubts you've made us proud! #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 👍 pic.twitter.com/dg5lha95mo

— IOA - Team India (@ioaindia) April 10, 2018

Heena has made two trips to the Commonwealth Games in 2010 -- winning a gold in the team 10m air pistol event and silver in the individual 10m air pistol -- and 2014 where she qualified for the 10m final but failed to leave a mark.