Heena shows signs of revival, Pooja misses podium

HEENA SIDHU didn’t have the best of starts to the ongoing shooting World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. In fact, the former world number one in the 10 metre air pistol event shot an insufficient 379 of 400 in the qualification round of her primary event, giving her a dismal 26th place finish. Yet a day later, the 26year-old tops the charts in the precision leg of the 25m qualification round.

Shooting an impressive 296 out of a possible 300, Sidhu entered the second round ahead of Olena Kostevych, who won bronze in the event at the London Olympics in 2012, and Celine Goberville, the silver medallist in London in the 10 metre event.

The score, however, does not represent an optimistic season for Sidhu. Her form has dropped significantly since she led from start to finish to win her Olympic quota at the Asian Qualification event at New Delhi in January. In either of her events, she hasn’t yet made it to the finals of any World Cups this year. At the Rio de Janeiro tournament in April, she shot 379 in the 10 metre — her rank was 24th that time around. In the 25 metre event, she finished 41st after scoring 568 (283 in precision and 285 in rapid fire).

A month later, at a World Cup in Munich, she was disqualified from the 25 metre event for failing an equipment re-inspection. Yet now in the last major tournament before Rio, the 10 metre air pistol record holder suddenly finds herself in good position to qualify for her first final at a World Cup this year.

Meanwhile, Pooja Ghatkar reached her second World Cup finals this year in the 10 metre air rifle discipline, finishing fourth yet again. Entering the fourth series of the elimination round, the 26-year-old was in third place, leading South Korea’s Hae Mi Park 144.8 to 144.1. Nonetheless, her following shots of 9.6 and 10.3 were overtaken by Park with 10.0 and 10.8. Ghatkar lost out on her first ever World Cup medal by 0.2 points.