Profile: Abhinav Bindra
Little remains to be said about Abhinav Bindra - the "Golden son" of the Indian soil. The first to win an individual Gold medal at the Olympic Games for India at the Beijing Olympics 2008, Abhinav Bindra found a place in every Indian's heart after that feat.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: July 17, 2012 11:32 AM IST
Sport: Shooting
Born: September 28, 1982
Event: 10 m Air Rifle
About Abhinav Bindra:
Little remains to be said about this "Golden son" of the Indian soil. The first to win an individual Gold medal at the Olympic Games for India at the Beijing Olympics 2008, he found a place in every Indian's heart after that feat. It also meant that India got their first Olympic Gold since 1980 when hockey team won it for India. The shooter, hailing from Mohali, Punjab, is not only the Olympic but also the World Champion in the 10m Air Rifle event.
An Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian territorial Army, he was the youngest Indian hope at the 2000 Olympic Games. Currently coached by five-time Olympic shooter Gabriele Buhlmann, he would be going all out to defend his Olympics crown.
In the 1998 Commonwealth Games, he became the youngest shooter to participate at a tender age of 15, earlier than the age Sachin Tendulkar began his career. Bindra's first brush with glory, though, came in the 2001 Munich World Cup with a Junior World record score of 597/600.
In 2001 calendar year, he won six Gold medals participating in different International meets.
The National recognition too had started by the time. The Arjuna Award came his way in 2000 while the next year itself he got the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
The accolades then kept flowing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games with a Gold in the pairs event and Silver in the individual one.
The 2004 Athens Olympics proved to be so-near-yet-so-far for him. Despite breaking the Olympic record, he could not win a medal as the opponents bettered what he had managed.
2006 saw a reversal in fortunes though as he became the first Indian to win a World Championship Gold in Croatia, Zagreb. Dr. Karni Singh's Silver was the previous Indian best back in 1962.
Then in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, 2006, he won the Gold in the pairs and Bronze in the single Air Rifle event. This was the time when a serious back injury threatened to hit his career badly. Bindra fought back though and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And rest as they say is history.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games brought with them another honour for the Punjabi lad as he was the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony.
Later, during the actual competition, Bindra along with Gagan Narang got India its first Gold of the 2010 Games. Abhinav also won the Silver in the Men's 10m Air Rifle individual event.
Previous Olympics: 2000 Olympics, Sydney - 11th; 2004 Olympics, Athens - 7th and 2008 Olympics, Beijing - Gold