Heena Sidhu, Shweta Singh win gold and silver as India end Asian Air Gun C'ship on a high

New Delhi: Former world number one Heena Sidhu lived upto the billing as she clinched the gold medal in women’s 10m air pistol to cap off India’s campaign at the 8th Asian Air Gun Championship on a winning note on Wednesday. India also had the silver medal in the kitty as Shweta Singh stood second on the podium in the day’s marquee event, ahead of bronze medallist Seon A Kim of Korea. Having topped the qualification with a score of 387 alongside another young Indian shooter Yashaswini Singh Deshwal, former world champion Heena shot 197.8 to win the top prize in the final. Shweta aggregated 197.0, while Kim managed 175.8. [caption id=“attachment_2451630” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gold medalist Hina Sidhu, Silver Medalist Shweta Sharma and Bronze medalist Seaon A Kim of Korea during the medal giving ceremony of women’s 10m Air Pistol event at 8th Asian Air Gun Championship in New Delhi[/caption] In her first international final, Yashaswini finished a creditable fourth after shooting 155.3. India, thus, won an impressive haul of 17 medals, including six gold (two in individual senior), to finish as toppers in the continental event, which lost some sheen after the pull-out of powerhouse China and Korea’s decision to not send numero uno pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh. India bagged five silver and six bronze. In the overall standings, Iran took the second place with 12 podium finishes, including six gold and five silver medals, followed by Taipei, winning one gold, two silver and as many bronze. In the day’s much-awaited event – women’s 10m air pistol – Heena got off to a terrific start firing a 10.7. But it was Shweta who was in lead after the first three shots with 2 10s to modest 9.8, 9.3 by Heena. With 61.3 points, Shweta continued to lead after the next three shots, as Heena followed with 60.7. As Iran’s Elham Harijani got eliminated, Heena found her bearings again to topple Shweta from the lead. It was around this time that Korea’s Kim started to head north with some consistent scores, including a magnificent 10.9. Shweta shot to the top for a moment before Heena wrested the position again with a series of mid to high 10s. Even as the Korean was eliminated after a brave fight, Heena and Shweta engaged in an intriguing tussle before the Ludhiana-born Mumbai-based shooter prevailed. Heena was satisfied with her effort in the qualification but the final was not upto the mark, according to her. “Most of the time there was a lot of delay. I was taking a lot of time, that plays on your mind. Today, I was not happy with the way I shot in the finals, this was a lower finals for me,” Heena said. PTI