Shooter Heena signs with IOS

Following Heena Sidhu's qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 10-metre air pistol event by winning the gold medal in the recently concluded Asia Olympic Qualifying here, sports management firm IOS has entered into a three-year deal with the woman shooter.

Heena, who is the ninth Indian shooter to qualify for the Games, will be seen competing in two events -- 10m air pistol and 25m air pistol.

Following this deal, IOS will manage the former World No.1's endorsements, appearances, brand profiling, patents, licensing and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites.

"Year 2016 is a great start for me, booking a berth for the Rio Olympics. I still have six months to prepare and work hard for the Olympics before which I will compete in major events like World Cup," said Heena.

"I have been performing well in the international circuit from last few years but at the same time I was looking for a sports management group that could manage my overall brand portfolio and logistics plus commercial activities in the best professional way."

Welcoming Heena, IOS CEO Neerav Tomar said: "I would like to congratulate Heena for booking a Rio Olympics berth. We are pleased to welcome another top woman sportsperson of the country into the IOS family. Heena is a superbly talented player and world class competitor who demonstrates a very strong character through her passion and commitment to her game."

The 26-year-old has more than 21 international titles to her credit as of now and will be a promising prospect for the country at the Olympics.

Heena, who will be participating in her second Olympics, has to her credit a gold medal at the World Cup Finals 2013 (Germany), a gold and silver each at the Commonwealth Games 2010 (Team & Individual), one silver in Asian Games 2010 (Guangzhou) and one bronze at the Asian Games 2014 (Incheon) and many other major international events.