Abhinav Bindra Aims To Sign Off On a High
India's one in a billion man, shooter Abhinav Bindra, hopes to bring down curtains on his illustrious career at the Rio Olympics by adding another medal to his kitty
Full name: Abhinav Singh Bindra
Born: 28 September 1983
Height: 5'8"
Sports: Shooting
Country: India
Event: 10m Air Rifle
About Abhinav Bindra
So tough is the 10m Air Rifle competition at the Olympics, that no shooter in history has managed to win the gold medal twice. India's Abhinav Bindra, who became Olympic champion 8 years ago is Beijing, is attempting the seemingly impossible. The Rio Olympics is going to be his last competition.
"The Rio Games are going to be my last, and I am looking forward to the opportunity that I have to do well. It's the final bit of my career", Bindra told NDTV. "I know I've been making these confusing statements over the last two years, but this is it."
Bindra's has been a career that has spanned well over a decade. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games, he became the youngest participant at the competition. In the following four editions of the Games (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), he picked up gold medals. At the 2006 World Championships in Zagreb, he won gold. And followed that up with a historic Olympic gold two years later in Beijing.
Over the last couple of years, the ace marksman has mulled retirement a couple of times. After the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, he mentioned he would become a hobby shooter. But Rio 2016 is indeed going to be Bindra's swansong. The 33 year old has hence left no stone unturned in his preparations, which includes replicating the shooting range in Rio at his home in Chandigarh.
"The background, the colours make a very very big difference to your inner balance," Bindra said. For perception, how the body is in space, the colours make a difference. The idea is to try and get used to it. It might help me by a decimal here and there, but Iin sport that's the difference"
Bindra, who will also be the Indian contingent's flag bearer at the opening ceremony on the 5th of August is one of the four goodwill ambassadors assignment assigned by the Indian Olympic Association. "I can't be an ambassador and sit around, and do nothing," he said.
"So I did my bit by sending out letters to all the members of our contingent. I am happy to share my experiences with them." In fact, some of the athletes did write in to him. "There are different kind of queries, like someone for instance wrote in about taking along a physio to Rio. I have send all the requests and messages to the IOA."   ÂÂ
A biopic on the champion's life is in the pipeline. Irrespective of how it does on screen, a medal winning finish to his career will make it a real life blockbuster no doubt.
Medals
2008 Beijing Olympics - Gold 10m Air Rifle
2006 Zagreb - ISSF World Shooting Championships - Gold 10m Air Rifle
2014 Glasgow - Commonwealth Games - Gold 10m Air Rifle
2010 Delhi - Commonwealth Games - Gold 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2006 Melbourne - Commonwealth Games - Gold 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2002 Manchester - Commonwealth Games - Gold 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2010 Guangzhou - Asian Games - Silver 10m Air Rifle