Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) today announced its support for India's first-ever World Cup gold medallist in pistol shooting, Heena Sidhu, till the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Not for Profit organisation OGQ's support comes as she aims to win medals for India at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian games later this year. Before OGQ, Heena was supported by the now-defunct Mittal Champions Trust.
"I am very delighted to get OGQ support. This is a very important year for shooting with 4 World Cups, CWG, Asian Games and the World Championships coming up and the support from OGQ has come at the right time," Heena said.
"My target is to win a gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics and I know that I need to work twice as hard and carefully plan my training schedule for the next two years. The OGQ team has made me very comfortable and that helps build trust which is very important for me."
The 24-year-old Heena, currently ranked number 2 in the world, won a gold and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and a silver medal at the Asian Games in China in 2010.
"Heena has established herself as one of the best shooters in the world over the last three years and OGQ is very proud to support her. Her talent is unquestionable and we believe that we can help her achieve her dream of winning an Olympic gold medal in Rio," said Viren Rasquinha, OGQ's CEO and former India hockey player.
Heena, who hails from Punjab, competed at the 2012 London Olympics in the women's 10m Air Pistol event and finished in 12th position. In 2013, she won the gold medal in the ISSF World Cup finals with a world record score thus becoming the only Indian woman to hold a final world record in shooting.
"Our focus areas for Heena will be to ensure that we can raise the funds for her foreign coach and mental trainer. Providing equipment like her pistol and pellets are also in our plans. Improving her physical fitness to deal with the pressure of competition will also be a priority."
OGQ was started by Indian sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone and it supports the training and preparation of 51 sportspersons across seven individual Olympic sports. Badminton, Boxing, Shooting, Archery, Wrestling, Athletics and Luge. Four athletes supported by OGQ -- Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom won medals at the London Games.
