What’s the story?
Heena Sidhu and Jitu Rai of India won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
Post the incredible achievement, a jubilant Heena Sidhu tweeted: “En route to my journey back from injury, won team Gold with Jitu.”
The context
The win gave India its first medal at the ISSF World Cup being held from 6th June to 14th June. The ace shooters were 0-4 down at one stage but they combined brilliantly to stage a dramatic turnaround to win the event 7-6, giving plenty to cheer about for the Indian shooting contingent.
The heart of the matter
Hailing from Punjab, 27-year-old Heena was the first Indian pistol shooter to be ranked number 1 in the world. She previously won an individual gold in the 10m air pistol women event in the ISSF World Cup Finals in 2013 held in Munich, Germany. She was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2014.
Born in Nepal, Jitu is a former world number one and has a gold medal to his name in the 10m air pistol men event in the ISSF World Cup in 2014 held in Maribor, Slovenia. He has also won gold medals in the 50-metre pistol events at the Commonwealth Games as well as the Asian Games in 2014. He was a recipient of the Khel Ratna Award in 2016.
The same duo had also won the gold medal at the ISSF World Cup held in February this year in New Delhi. The air pistol mixed team event is one of the new additions to the Olympic Games that will be held in Tokyo in 2020.
Jitu also took part in the 10m men’s air pistol event but could only finish 12th with a final score of 576. The Indian rifle and pistol contingent is 23-member strong, comprising 12 women and 11 men.
430 athletes representing 45 countries are competing for medals at the Gabala World Cup, which offers athletes the chance to qualify for the ISSF World Cup Finals.
What’s next?
The Indian pair is looking in good shape ahead of the ISSF World Cup Finals, which will have the top eight shooters in the world for each Olympic discipline as well as the reigning Olympic and World Championship medal holders and wild cards competing against each other.
Author’s take
Having produced a lot of great shooters in the past, India can now expect bigger and better things from this very talented pair in the international competitions that lie ahead. First up though, they will have to focus on the ISSF World Cup finals. Much is expected of the pair who would like to emulate the success of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang by winning an Olympic medal for the country.
