Don’t breathe, don’t move: Fabian shoots her way to second silver

Calm, accuracy and focus.

“Mental preparation is one of the most important things in my training,” explained Sara Fabian, after capturing her second silver medal of the Chengdu FISU World University Games, in the women’s 25m Pistol final, thanks to a 30-point tally on Tuesday.

The Hungarian had previously placed second in the 10m Air Pistol on Sunday.

Yang Jiin from the Republic of Korea triumphed with 36 points and China’s Xiong Yaxuan took bronze after scoring 26.

Fabian, a 21-year-old student from the University of Hungary, considers her psychologist a crucial part of her team. About her strategy, she explains: “The mental preparation has phases and I can choose between different techniques according to what I need. Relaxation is important before going to sleep. Also I do a lot of mental training. I play the competition in my head focusing on when I do perfect shots.

“If you think about it, it’s like you do it.”

“During the shoot-off my heart was racing and my breathing was a little bit fast. So I used different breathing techniques to slow it down and get calm,” revealed men’s 10m Air Pistol bronze medallist Pavel Schejbal from the Czech Republic, who uses the same technique as Fabian. “During the match, I couldn’t help shaking so I kept breathing deeply.”

Schejbal (219.6 points) finished behind Hu Kai (204.4) of China and Korea’s Lim Hojin (204.1).

One of the most intense moments at the Chengdu Shooting School came from the four shoot-offs between Fabian and Xiong. The two rivals made the same hits in three straight shoot-offs. In the end, Fabian’s 4-hit secured her a silver medal.

Fabian also remarked the way her mind works during the competition, representing another important factor.

“A lot of athletes got stuck mentally in the previous shots. You want to avoid that because it can ruin the rest of your performance.

“The thing that I like most about my sport is that I’m alone in the shooting stand and the outcome only depends on me, not on anyone else. I am a nervousSift Kaur Samra of Team IndiaSift Kaur Samra (India) person, so I work about that with my coach, and that is how we are a team.”

In Tuesday’s other individual final, the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, India’s Samra Sift Kaur (462.9) outshot teammate Chouksey Ashi (461.6) and China’s Wang Zeru (451.1).

In team events, the Republic of Korea (10m Air Pistol men), India (50m Rifle 3 Positions women) and China (25m Pistol women) prevailed.

Shooting at the FISU Games continues on Wednesday with the 10m Air Rifle and 10m Air Pistol mixed team finals.

Written by Julieta Boschiazzo, FISU Young Reporter