Today, as he announced the end of his professional shooting career, let’s have a look at his achievements, and also, difficulties that he overcame to bring his fame to home—India that is.
Set Records, Created History
· When he was just 15 years of age, Bindra became the youngest participant to participate in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
· He won Bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup, setting a new junior world record score of 597/600.
· He was all of 18 who represented in the 2000 Olympics game; youngest Indian participant to achieve this feat.
· In 2001, he won six gold medals at various international meets.
· At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, he won a Gold medal in the Pairs event with Sameer Ambedkar, and an individual Silver medal.
· At the 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships, he became the first Indian shooter to win gold in a World Championship.
· At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs event with
· At the 2008 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle event.
· At the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, he didn’t only get the honour of being the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent, but also took the athletes' oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories.
· He set a record by scoring 1193 in 10m air rifle pair's event for men with Gagan Narang and won India her first Gold. He also won an individual Silver medal.
· At the 2012 Asian Shooting Championships, he won the Gold medal in the Men's 10-metre Air rifle event.
· At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won Gold medal in the Men’s 10m air rifle singles event.
· At the 2014 Asian Games, he secured an individual Bronze in Men's 10m Air Rifle.
· He is the first and as of yet, the only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles together.
Had A Tough Road To Fame
All these achievements didn’t reach him (Bindra) easy. He had to overcome several hurdles, like:
· In the 2000 Olympics, Bindra was placed 11th in the qualification round, and thus couldn’t qualify for the finals.
· In the 2004 Olympics, he broke the Olympic record but didn’t win a medal.
· He could not attend the 2006 Asian Games because of a back injury.
· In the 2012 Olympics, he finished in the 16th place, and didn’t get through the finals.
Some Less-know Facts About Bindra
Other than being a competent shooter, he also penned his autobiography, which is tited A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold. He co-authored the autobiography with sportswriter Rohit Brijnath. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. He also runs a company called Abhinav Futuristics, which is the only Indian distributor of Walther arms, a German arms manufacturer. He is the brand ambassador of Steel Authority of India Limited and is a member of FICCI Sports Committee.
Image: Indiatimes