Shooting: Heena Sidhu begins preparations for Asian Games, focusses on polishing basics

Bhopal, July 20: Former world number 1 shooter Heena Sidhu has started her preparations for the upcoming Asian Games 2018 in the right earnest.

The ace Indian shooter is focusing on strengthening her technique and polishing the basics as she looks to put up a strong show at the Jakarta Games next month, following her twin medal feat at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Exclusive Interview - Heena Sidhu

Heena is currently undergoing preparations at the NRAI-organised national camp in the state-of-the-art Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy in Bhopal, where she is training for close to 8-9 hours a day in a bid to hone her skills ahead of the quadrennial tournament.

A lot of emphases is being laid on her stability and trigger coordination in the 10-metre air pistol event and shot timing in the 25-metre pistol, the latter being a time fire event.

"This camp is more about polishing the basics and strengthening the technique and then the next one on August will be more about exposing myself to pressure and contingencies," says Heena, who won a gold in the 25-metre pistol event and a silver in the 10-metre air pistol at the Gold Coast Games.

"For the 25-metre pistol event, we are working on smoother and precise lifting while in the 10 metre, a lot of work is being done on scatt which a simulation software for training."

Heena's day begins with a mental training session at 6 am and is followed by intense sessions at the range where the focus is on technique and fine-tuning the basics. The evenings are spent in the gym where Heena works on her core, balance and strength exercises.

"The camp has four days of training and one-day rest in between," says Heena. "Apart from all this, I am also making sure to have a healthy balanced diet to ensure I can manage to take the load and get a good night's sleep for proper recovery."

The Asian Games will be held from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang.