Shooting is a way of life, not a sport, says pistol shooter Heena Sidhu

Professional shooters have strict diets and if you are a star with multiple World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medals things are obviously more stringentHowever the Punjabi in ace pistol shooter Heena Sidhu couldnt resist relishing some hot parathas almost as soon as she entered the midday office recently for a brand new episode of Meet Your Icon where young fans get the opportunity to come facetoface with their sporting heroesCofee is my weakness and since Im not training at the moment I can have some said Sidhu almost covering up for her guilty pleasure And beinga Punjabi I cannot say no to parathas she said cracking us all upWatch the video as Heena Sidhu opens up about her journey from dentist to shooterIn a detailed interaction with midday Heena spoke of how her journey as a shooter began by the swapping of metals when she had to put away dentistry equipment to pick up a gun She touched upon her No 1 ranking in 2014 and highs and lows thereafterHeena loves art and all things that define human performance She also spoke about her life on and off the shooting range with her coach mdash husband Ronak PanditBesides being a shooter you are also a qualified dentist Can you take us through this unique combination of professionsShooting happened very late in my life I was more of a student I was totally into academics and always wanted to be a doctor I was a very bright student throughout my school and college years I started shooting when I was 17 These days kids start very early I didnt start shooting thinking that I will make a profession out of it I just wanted to start something to give me a break from my hectic study schedule So I started it off like a hobby but later I started winning medals and that kept me going and eventually it became a professionWhen did you realise that shooting was going to be your sportWhen I started shooting and later even after I made the India team I always thought that I will be here for five or six years and then get back to dentistry I really enjoyed dentistry so I thought I will return to a career in medicine But when I was studying for my graduation I went to my first Olympics London 2012 So just before the Games I was training and studying for my exams and treating patients mdash all at the same time It was very hectic Thats when I realised that I cant be doing this Eventually I have to decide what I wanted to do I cant be half a dentist and half a shooter That way I wont be good at either At my first Olympics I also realised how close I was because I lost my finals in the last three shots I was going fifth and sixth and if my last three shots were 10s I would have made it to the finals So that made me decide to take up shooting as a professionHeena SidhuYour husband Ronak is also a shooter How did you both meet Did you two hit it off instantlyNo not instantly I met Ronak in 2009 through a common friend and in 2010 we were training together under the same coach Thats when I started talking to him and we went out for lunches and dinners all of us trainees as a group Thats when I got to know him better In 2012 when I went to my first Olympics my coach then began training the Indian team while I wanted to train alone Thats when Ronak decided to help me with my training So a friend became a coach and then a husbandSo what are the pros and cons of having your husband as your coachAs for the pros he knows the sport and has beentheredonethat many times He makes sure he is still shooting so that he understands the shooters point of view And of course he knows me a lot better than anyone else So he brings that combination of knowing me and knowing the sport when he is coaching meAs for the cons I think its very difficult to switch off when your husband is also your coach because you dont tend to leave behind shooting at the range When you come home you keep talking about shooting So there has to be that balance You have to learn how to strike that balance For other shooters they work with their coach and then have their normal life where they go out meet friends watch TV and sort of switch off So we had to learn how to switch offHeena makes a point while interacting with middays Harit N JoshiBesides Ronak and yourself your fatherin law Ashok Pandit is also an exshooter So are talks at home all about guns and bulletsYes thats exactly what I was just telling you Its very important to switch off But when we three are together we talk about shooting in general and not about what I am doing or where I am going We talk about what can be done for the sport or whats going on at the range Whats happening at the NRAI National Rifle Association of India when are the next matches and stuff Its not about meA lot of young shooters are doing well like Manu Bhaker Saurabh Chaudhary among others As seniors you compete with them but do you also mentor themIts a great time for Indian shooting but no there is no mentoring as such The junior India team has a separate coach and the senior team has their separate coach In fact they have separate camps too Only if they are selected in the senior team do we train together Then too since shooting is a very individual sport everyone has their own way of doing things For example I am good friends with pistol shooter Rahi Sarnobat and rifle shooter Gagan Narang but we dont talk about shooting Besides they are already training with their coach while we are under our coach so there is no mentoring as such With most parents now also looking at other sports besides cricket there are a lot of young shooters coming in and you see them being provided the right knowledge because of the new coaches that NRAI has hired Thats a great thing but we senior shooters have no hand in itShooters have strict diets Whats on your toeat and nottoeat listI follow a rather simple diet I try not to have a lot of coffee or tea I had coffee this morning here because I am off shooting for a couple of days So when Im off it I try to cheat here and there I try not to have sugar Whatever sugar you get in form of fruits and stuff is enough I also try not to have refined carbohydrates I prefer more nuts and protein in my diet There is this notion that you should eat frequently through the day in small portions but I dont agree with that I think you should eat well to ensure you dont keep binging in between meals because that keeps your insulin levels high throughout the day And you need to let your insulin levels coming down for a while Shooters dont like that insulin rush So you eat well give your body time to digest that food and then there should be like a fasting phase And yes hydration is very importantHow do you get into your zone while trainingYou have to create that storm in practice Have people sit around you and have them shout at you Have them create that pressure around you because no amount of pressure that you create in training is going to be equal to competition pressure So its good to create as much pressure you can Go through the storm every day so you know your way outYou spoke about the mistakes that you have made Can you share some inputs on that mindset when errors are happening and you are trying to overcome themI believe an athlete either wins or either learns Even defeats teach you so much Like what actually could have been done right So you have to take shooting as a science and not a sport There is a reason to everything that happens with you So you have to first write down what happened today what could have been done better and why do you think its like this and how to improve on it Its like maths and science You have to keep working on it and keep noting down your progress so that you know that today you were better than yesterday Or if not then at least you wont repeat the same mistake Or even if you do the margin would have decreased So thats how you see yourself growing as a shooter You see the confidence and it gives you that belief that your are going in the right direction Like I may not be there today but I will get there tomorrow Its like how you prepare for your examinations Dont you prepare in the same way You make sure that you have covered this chapter and that chapter and then you go through the same chapters again and again so that you have understood everything well Its the same with your shootingSo say for example if you have an exam on this particular day you have to make sure that you have to complete your work before that and while you do that you have to keep ticking the boxes on the way But shooting is technically not like that You have to keep meandering a bit too You learn one thing then you forget the other Or unlearn the other So you have to keep going back and forth till you get it right Thats all there is to itEveryones looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics after Indias fine show at the Asian Games Whats your preparation like in the runup to the GamesBefore the Tokyo Olympics the most important thing is getting that quota spot So we have a few World Cups coming up next year and that is our main goal mdash the World Cups and Asian Championships As for training for the Olympics there is no specific method or path of training keeping the Games in mind You have to simply keep training to be a better shooter And thats always going on You have to learn from every round every competition Then you make your plans accordingly So its an ongoing processOf course for the Olympics you train much harder In terms of the pressure you are going to face thats the biggest thing Thats the difference between training for a National Championship and training for the Olympics To make sure you are tough enough to follow the process in the hardest conditions Other than that what you do before the Olympics or any other event is the sameAlso Read Heena Sidhu And Hubby Ronak Enjoy Patakhas FireworksCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates