Heena Sidhu officially declared a world record holder after wait of 3 months

The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) has officially declared Indian pistol shooter Heena Sidhu a world record holder after a wait of three months.

Heena shot a score of 203.8 to clinch gold in the 10m air pistol event at the World Cup Finals in Munich in November last year. Though the score was the highest in the finals which followed the new scoring format which was in effect from January 2013, the ISSF gave the confirmation only a day back.

“There was a meeting held by the ISSF officials, discussing the future of the new format. Once the format was retained for future, they officially announced Heena’s score as a world record,” explained Heena’s coach and husband Ronak Pandit.

Heena said that she had been waiting in anticipation of the announcement. “It is official now. I knew I had shot a world record, but was waiting for ISSF’s announcement,” said the shooter, who became the first Indian pistol shooter to win gold at the World Cup Finals.

The shooter, who has won medals for India at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games to go along with the gold medal at the ISSF World Cup, acknowledged the role played by destiny in her success.

“I was not supposed to participate in the World Cup Finals. It so happened that three shooters ahead of me withdrew at the last moment and I got a call from ISSF. I got a chance and I am glad I used it to the fullest,” she told TOI.