Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Singh Bindra
Personal information
Nationality India
Ethnicity Punjabi
Born (1982-09-28) 28 September 1982[1]
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Residence Zirakpur, Punjab, India
Education Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A..)
Alma mater The Doon School
St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh
University of Colorado
Occupation Sportsman (Shooter)
Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) (As of August 2011)
Weight 65.5 kg (144 lb) (As of August 2011)
Medal record
Competitor for  India
Men's shooting
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle
ISSF World Shooting Championships
2006 Zagreb 10 m Air Rifle
Commonwealth Games
2002 Manchester 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2006 Melbourne 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2010 Delhi 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
2014 Glasgow 10m Air Rifle
2002 Manchester 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
2010 Delhi 10m Air Rifle
2006 Melbourne 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Asian Games
2010 Guangzhou 10m Air Rifle (Team)
2014 Incheon 10m Air Rifle (Team)
2014 Incheon Men's 10m Air Rifle

Abhinav Singh Bindra (born 28 September 1982, in Dehradun[1]) is an Indian shooter and is a World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. It was also India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold.[2][3] He is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time, a feat he accomplished by capturing the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, after having won the gold at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Abhinav won Gold Medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

In 2014, Abhinav Bindra joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with the GoSports Foundation, he will also provide support to India's up and coming talented shooters through the Abhinav Bindra Shooting Development Programme.[4]

Career

Early years

Abhinav Bindra was born in the home of Punjabi Sikh family.[5] He studied at The Doon School for two years before moving to St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh; he graduated from Stephen's in 2000.[6][7] His parents had an indoor shooting range installed at their home in Patiala, Punjab.[8][9] His Mentor was Dr.Amit Bhattacharjee who has been closely associated with him since the beginning of his career.[10] Bhattacharjee and Lt. Col. Dhillon (who was also his first Coach) were the first ones to spot the potential in Abhinav.[11][12] Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games.[9] His current coach is a five-time Olympic shooter Gabriele Bühlmann from Basel, Switzerland, with whom he trained in Germany before the Olympics.

In the 2000 Olympics Bindra achieved a score of 590, placing him 11th in the qualification round, meaning he did not qualify for the finals since only the top eight competed in the finals.[13] After his disappointing performance, Bindra said that he had no plans to retire from shooting.[14]

Notable international performance

At 15, Abhinav Bindra became the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. His breakthrough, though came when he won a Bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600. Bindra was also the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games.

He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In 2000 he was honoured with the Arjuna Award and the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2001.

In the Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event. Bindra also won Silver in the individual event.

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, despite breaking the Olympic record Bindra failed to win a medal. He scored 597 in the qualification round and was placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 – new Olympic Record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals, Abhinav finished with 97.6 points, last in the field of eight, and was the only player below 100 points. His sub-par finals dropped him from third to seventh.[15]

On 24 July 2006, Bindra became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold in Zagreb. Dr. Karni Singh's Silver in 1962 was the previous best by an Indian in a World Championship meet.

At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs event and the Bronze in the Singles event. Abhinav missed the 2006 Asian Games at Doha because of a back injury.

After these successes he started suffering from a severe back injury, so much so that he was unable to compete or even lift a rifle for a year, upsetting his preparations for the Beijing Games. However, Bindra put all speculation to rest, bringing India perhaps his biggest sporting glory ever. Bindra booked his place in the 2008 Olympics by winning the gold medal at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships with a score of 699.1.[16]

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won the gold in the Men's 10m Air Rifle event after shooting a total of 700.5. He scored 596 (fourth) in the qualifying round and out-scored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5. In the finals, he started with a shot of 10.7, and none of his shots were below 10.0.[17] Bindra was tied with Henri Häkkinen heading into his final shot. Bindra scored his highest of the finals – 10.8 while Hakkinen shot 9.7 to settle for the Bronze medal.[18] It has been alleged that Abhinav Bindra's gun was tampered with between the qualifying and final round of the event, though no official complaint was filed by the Indian contingent.[19]

This was India's first individual gold medal at the Olympics, and the first gold in 28 years, since the men's field hockey team won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.[2] Bindra was rewarded by various Indian state governments and private organisations for his achievement.

When the 2010 Commonwealth Games were held in New-Delhi, Abhinav Bindra got the honour of being the Indian contingent's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. He also got the honour of taking the athletes' oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories on that occasion. Abhinav Bindra along with Gagan Narang shot in unison to set a Games record 1193 in 10m air rifle pair's event for men to win the first gold for India in the 19th Commonwealth Games. However the Olympic Champion had to settle for silver in the individual event. His countryman Gagan Narang, who shot a perfect 600 to equal his own world record in men's 10m individual air rifle qualification, won the Gold.

Abhinav Bindra won the Gold medal in the Men's 10-metre Air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships, which was held in Doha Qatar.

Abhinav Bindra lost in the qualification round in 2012 London Olympics finishing with a score of 594 placing him in 16th, though his compatriot Gagan Narang made it to the finals in 3rd place, and went on to win the bronze medal for India, thereby opening the medal tally for India in London Olympics 2012.

In 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, Abhinav Bindra again won Gold in the Men’s 10m air rifle singles event.[20]

Business career

He holds a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, US.[21] Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, the sole distributor of Walther arms in India. Abhinav has sponsorship tie-ups with Samsung, BSNL and Sahara Group.[8] He is also the brand ambassador by State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. and also a member of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Sports Committee since 2010.

Personal life

HarperSport published his autobiography, A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold which he co-authored with sportswriter Rohit Brijnath in October 2011. It was formally released by Union Sports minister, Ajay Maken on 27 October 2011 at a function in New Delhi,[22] thereafter the book went on to receive good reviews.[23][24]

Awards and recognition

Awards for 2008 Olympics Gold medal

References

  1. 1 2 Athlete Biography: Abhinav Bindra. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
  2. 1 2 Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold
  3. ↑ Medalists – India, The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
  4. ↑ Bindra, GoSports join hands to help young shooters
  5. ↑ "CWG 2010 Shooting | Abhinav Bindra Profile | India Hopes Medal | Commonwealth Games | Delhi – Oneindia News". News.oneindia.in. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra's schools – India". BBC News. 26 July 2010.
  7. ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080812/main4.htm
  8. 1 2 "Abhinav Bindra's parents feeling on top of the world". Hindustan Times. India. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Abhinav Bindra Profile". iloveindia.com.
  10. ↑ Archived 7 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Bindra upset at coaches being ignored". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 23 July 2009.
  12. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra win gold in Beijing". 11 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  13. ↑ "China grabs gold, Bindra places 11th in shooting". Rediff. 18 September 2000. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  14. ↑ "Bindra has no plans to retire". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 30 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Bindra finishes seventh". Rediff. 16 August 2004. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  16. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra clinches India's first gold". The Hindu. India. 25 July 2006. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  17. ↑ India's Bindra wins gold in the Men's 10m Air Rifle from the Official Website of Beijing Olympics
  18. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold". Rediff. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  19. ↑ A news article from Times of India dated 14 August 2008, retrieved 14 August 2008
  20. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra clinches Gold in 10m Air Rifle at Glasgow Commonwealth". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Ganguly, Madhumita (12 August 2008). "Abhi-nerve cures a nation's yellow fever". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  22. ↑ "Maken formally launches Abhinav Bindra's biography". The Times of India. 27 October 2011.
  23. ↑ "Hitting bull's eye". Daily Pioneer. 19 November 2011.
  24. ↑ Datta, Sravasti (6 November 2011). "A shot at greatness". Chennai, India: The Hindu.
  25. ↑ Padma Awards-2009
  26. ↑ Agencies (19 August 2008). "Central Govt to give Abhinav Bindra 50 lakhs". Express India. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  27. 1 2 3 Shooting Star: Prizes pour in as states honour Bindra
  28. ↑ BCCI chief sanctions cash award for Bindra
  29. ↑ Steel Ministry undertakings announce Rs. 15 lakh cash prize to Abhinav Bindra
  30. ↑ "Karnataka announces Rs 10 lakh cash award to Bindra". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  31. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Jalandhar Edition". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  32. ↑ Deshmukh announces Rs 10 lakh cash prize to Bindra
  33. ↑ Abhinav’s Olympic Gold brings nostalgia to Orissa CM
  34. ↑ TN announces Rs 5 lakh for Bindra
  35. ↑ Mittal lends a hand to India's Olympic hero
  36. ↑ Archived 2 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  37. ↑ Desk, The (13 August 2008). "PMC announces Rs 15 lakh cash award for Abhinav Bindra | The Punekar". Punekar.in. Retrieved 22 November 2011.

Further reading

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