Heena takes leaf from Bindra's mental training book

NEW DELHI: Ace shooter Heena Sidhu has followed in the footsteps of Olympic champions such as Abhinav Bindra and is using state-of-the-art techniques in mental training used by top organizations like NASA to help her achieve that Olympic medal.
The pistol shooter, who qualified for London after the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) exchanged a quota place, has been training in Hanover since May 16. She has hired the services of renowned Canadian mental trainer Pierre Beauchamp, founder of MindRoom Peak Sport Performance.
MindRoom Peak Sport Performance is a sophisticated technological approach currently used by Navy Seals, NASA, AC Milan, Chelsea FC and Canadian Olympic teams.
"Competing in the Olympic Games mean you are at a different level but one can easily get carried away by the euphoria. It is easy to succumb under pressure on the big day. The key is to look at the Games as just another competition. Heena has hired the best in the business and we haven't left any stone unturned in our mission," Ronak Pandit, Heena's personal coach, said.
Ronak said Beauchamp used different technologies including NeuroTracker, a perceptual-cognitive training device that improves sustained concentration. This was used by Bindra in the run-up to his gold medal at the the Beijing Olympics.
Besides nuerofeedback, the 22-year-old BDS student from Patiala also took biofeedback training that helps in relaxing the muscles. "When a shooter is under pressure it will be difficult to relax the forehead and jaw for that perfect shot. These techniques help in quickly switching between a relaxed state and a focused state," Ronak said.
According to experts, mental training makes the difference most of the time as the shooter takes 40 shots in 75 minutes.