“Every athlete looks for this recognition. It’s sort of like the Param Vir Chakra for us. I always say that athletes and armed forces have the same attitudes – duty first, the fighting spirit – everything for the nation. So, when you receive something back from the nation, you don’t feel invisible. Otherwise, in a sport like shooting, which is not cricket, staying visible becomes difficult. So, it is special,” Heena told TNN, reported TOI

“There has to be a certain uniformity when it comes to state governments awarding their athletes for their medal wins. Look at Bengal. They gave Rs. 10 lakh to the girl who won (Asian Games) gold in heptathlon (Swapna Barman). I felt so bad because that was the first medal for that sport for India in Asian Games. On the other hand, in Haryana, they are giving crores left, right, and centre. When you see your colleagues winning the same medals and their life is set while you are still struggling for bread and butter, it’s not right,” she said.

“Yes, because of course there is more competition. And no, because my competition has always been outside of India. If you just think of the numbers – what number you need to shoot to be the best in the world – then whatever scores you are seeing in India don’t even count. If you start thinking about names that she is doing better than me or she is challenging me, then you are going in the wrong direction. You aren’t concentrating on what you need to do. You’re not concentrating on shooting. You are concentrating on other people,” Heena added.