Heena Sidhu (born 29 August 1989) is an Indian

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such a ...

. On 7 April 2014, Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to reach number one in world rankings by the

International Shooting Sport Federation The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun (clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic shooting sport events. ISSF's activities include regula ...

. In 2013, Sidhu became the first Indian pistol shooter to win a gold medal in an

ISSF World Cup The ISSF World Cup was introduced by the International Shooting Sport Federation in 1986 to provide a homogeneous system for qualification to the Olympic shooting competitions. It still is carried out in the Olympic shooting events, with four comp ...

finals when she won the 10-metre air pistol event. In 2014, Sidhu was the

World record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder in the 10-metre air pistol event with a final score of 203.8. Sidhu is

right handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or sim ...

and is right eye dominant.

Personal life

In 2013, Sidhu received a Bachelor of Dental Surgery. Sidhu's father was a national sports shooter. Her brother is also a shooter in the

10 metre air pistol The 10 meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm (or .177) caliber air guns at a distance of 10 m ...

event. Sidhu's uncle is a

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...

and gun customizer. On 7 February 2013, Sidhu married

Ronak Pandit Ronak Pandit (12 April 1985) is an Indian sport shooter. He won gold medal in the Men's 25m Standard Pistol (Pairs) with Samaresh Jung at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He is married to Indian shooter Heena Sidhu Heena Sidhu (born 29 August ...

, also a pistol shooter who also acts as her coach. She has a daughter named Reyah. Sidhu resides in

Goregaon Goregaon ( �oːɾeɡaːʋ is a suburb of Mumbai city, in the Mumbai Suburban district of India. It has a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Line. An extension of the Harbour Line was completed in 2018 because of w ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Career

Sidhu began shooting in 2006, participating in the national junior and senior teams. She was a member of the

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

Club. She began shooting to aid her admission into dental school. In 2009, Sidhu won a silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. She won first place in the women's 10 m air pistol event at the national championship in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Sidhu, with Annu Raj Singh and Sonia Rai, won a silver medal in the Women's 10 m air pistol team event at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, China. With Annu Raj Singh scoring 375 points and Sidhu scoring 384 points, Sidhu and Singh won a gold medal in the women's pairs 10 metre air pistol at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. In the singles event, Sidhu won a silver medal. Sidhu was a member of the Indian team to the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She competed in the women's 10 metre air pistol event, finishing twelfth in the qualification round. Sidhu was part of the official London Olympic Games film entitled ''First: The Story of the London 2012 Olympic Games''. The film, written, produced and directed by Caroline Rowland followed a dozen first-time Olympic athletes as they prepared to compete in London. In 2013, Sidhu won the gold medal at the ISSF World Cup Finals in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany. Sidhu defeated the world champion Zorana Arunovic of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and the previous winner, Olena Kostevych of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

with 203.8 points, which gave her a 5-point lead at the end of the event. In the 2014 Indian National Shooting trials, Sidhu won by 0.1 point over

Rahi Sarnobat Rahi Jeevan Sarnobat (Marathi: राही सरनोबत) is a female athlete from India who competes in the 25 metre pistol shooting event. She won her first gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India. She is the fi ...

in the women's

air pistol The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

event. In 2016, Sidhu qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in the women's 10 metre air pistol and the women's 25 metre pistol events. She finished fourteenth in the women's 10 metre air pistol and twentieth in the women's 25 metre pistol qualifying rounds. In 2017, Sidhu won gold medal in women's 10 metre air pistol event at the Commonwealth shooting championships in Brisbane. In 2016, Sidhu pulled out of the Asian Air Gun Championships in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

because

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

made the wearing of the

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

mandatory for female participants. At the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

, Sidhu won a silver medal in the women's 10 metre air pistol event, and a gold medal in the women's 25 metre air pistol event. She broke the Commonwealth Games record of 38 in winning the gold medal.

Awards

On 28 August 2014, Sidhu was conferred the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

References

External links

Heena Sidhu profile
at

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Heena Sidhu Opentalk
with Sumit Jain {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidhu, Heena Living people Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Indian female sport shooters Shooters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from Punjab, India Sportspeople from Ludhiana Sportspeople from Patiala Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Asian Games medalists in shooting Olympic shooters of India Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics 1989 births Shooters at the 2010 Asian Games Shooters at the 2014 Asian Games Shooters at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in shooting 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games