I am taking care that I don’t burn myself before the Olympics: Heena

MUMBAI: Pistol shooter Heena Sidhu, is one of India’s brightest medal prospects at the forthcoming Rio Olympics. In an interview with TOI, she details her current training schedule in Germany and the way forward in the run up to the Games: Excerpts:
Tell us something about your preparations in the run up to the Rio Olympics?
The year gone by had become very hectic and tiring for me since I had tried for the Olympic quota twice and then the Asian Shooting Championships were stripped off its Olympic qualification status due to internal politics between the IOC and the Kuwait shooting federation.So finally the quota came in January in Delhi and I was in dire need of a break. So till mid-March I took complete rest after which I slowly started with my physical and basic technical preparations. We have enough competitions to get ready for Rio. We were at the Pre-Olympic World Cup in Rio in April and are aware of the conditions there. I will also be preparing accordingly in Mumbai, Pune and Germany. We will be participating at the coming World Cups in Munich and Baku, apart from other local competitions in Europe - Germany, Czech Republic and Serbia. I am good technically and main emphasis will be to work mentally so that I am able to perform up to my potential in Brazil.
What is the kind of schedule that you have been maintaining over the past few weeks, and what are the plans going forward?
I am taking care that I don’t burn myself before the Olympics. Anything in excess is bad, so I have to ensure that I train enough which prepares me and yet not over train so that I remain fresh and look forward to competing.
Usually we train five days a week for five hours at the shooting range, then two hours at the gym and two hours of mental training. The day starts at 7am , training starts at 9 and goes on till 7pm with just a short lunch break and maybe an hour of nap in between. Few days before competition we reduce the load from total nine hours to five hours so that it gives me more time to rest and also do other things that make me happy and help me relax like sketching or music or sometimes just sitting by a cafe and reading a book on Kindle. Nutrition is important and I take care of what I eat irrespective of where I am in the world or how much it costs.
You won silver in the 10m air pistol event at the Shooting Competition of Hannover on Sunday. What do you feel about your form at the moment?
I am getting better and consistent. We went to this competition to execute my game plans and we are glad I was able to execute them, and the fact that I shot 388 gives me the confidence that we are on the right track. Every day and every competition is a learning experience and we are maintaining a growth mindset so that we are on the upward curve till Rio. It is not important to shoot high scores now. Right now we need to feel how things are working and what challenges we are facing so that we can work accordingly in training and overcome them.
You also participated at the World Cup in Rio last month. How was the experience considering that you were not at your best there? What did you make of the facilities, and how much of a chance did you all get to practice there?
The range in Rio is good. It has its own challenges, but that’s what makes it more interesting. It’s comparatively small and very noisy so it will be a good experience to train accordingly. We did get a good amount of training during the World Cup in April so I am well settled with the competition conditions in Rio.
We were at the range all day, and so much so that in spite of being there for nine days, we couldn’t find time even on a single day to go up to Christ the Redeemer. One evening we finally forced ourselves to find some time and go for a walk on the beach. We were there for a purpose and I am glad we made full use of it. Performance in April is of no concern because the Olympics are still a few months away. What is important is to identify the venue and be aware of what it will be like in August so that we are ready for it when it really matters.
Can you please elaborate on the progress that you have made since the 2012 London Olympics. And, what are the changes that you have had to make to in order to stay among the best?
I was very raw and relatively inexperienced around London. I did the best I could then and I am doing the best I can now. Definitely, I have a lot more experience now and I am aware of what Olympics feel like.
I have great support from the Government in terms of funding my training and also from Olympic Gold Quest and things are a lot smoother than 2012. I have the same training team since London (Ronak (Pandit) as technical coach and Dr Pierre as my psychologist) and we are working very well together and are equally fired up about performing.
My scores have improved and also gotten more consistent. A lot of the rules of my event have changed and I have had to adapt accordingly and I think my team did a great job in ensuring we adapt well to it.
The rules changed in 2013 with regards to the timing and format of the competition and also the finals were completely different now. Earlier we shot 10 shots in finals and it was added to our qualification score, whereas now we all start from zero and have to shoot 20 shots in an elimination format.
And though I did struggle during the first six months, but in November 2013 I made the final world record and was also World No. 1 in 2014. So I have a great team in place and we are doing some good work. I have also started another event (25m pistol), though I am very new in it. But I am making good progress so we also have to divide our time between two events and ensure they complement each other and not interfere.
One area where I am working very differently now is physical training. I am a lot more fitter now and can put in more hours of training because I am physically fitter than before. Also the team of physiotherapists made available by the OGQ understands my requirements very well and they have kept me in good shape.