Abhinav Bindra Retires from Professional Shooting
Abhinav Bindra is competing for the last time in the Asian Games at Incheon. He won the 10m air rifle gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: September 22, 2014 10:00 pm IST
Abhinav Bindra has announced his retirement from professional shooting. India's only individual Olympic gold medallist is competing in the Incheon Asian Games for the last time. Bindra will represent India in his pet event, the 10m air rifle event on Tuesday. (Recap read: Gun-toting zen master Abhinav Bindra seeks Asian Games glory)
Bindra took to social media to announce his retirement from competitive shooting. "Tomorrow will mark the end of my professional shooting life! I will however still shoot, compete as a hobby shooter, training twice a week," Bindra said on Twitter.
Tomorrow will mark the end of my professional shooting life ! I will however still shoot , compete as a hobby shooter training twice a week.
- Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) September 22, 2014
The 2008 Beijing Olympic champion had hinted at retirement just before he won the Commonwealth Games gold earlier this year in Glasgow. The 31-year-old shooter, never in great terms with the establishment, has recently been in the news for the wrong reasons. Bindra was caught in visa problems ahead of the Asian Games.
Even though he has announced his retirement, Bindra indicated that he may still compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. In the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, Bindra had won silver. A gold at Incheon will be the perfect way to sign off.