Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra is an Indian businessman and retired sport shooter.[1] He is currently India's only individual Olympic gold medalist.[2] His gold in the 10-meter air rifle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics was also India's first Olympic gold medal since 1980.[3][4] He is the first Indian to have held concurrently the world and Olympic titles for the men's 10-meter air rifle event, having earned those honors at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Bindra has also won nine medals at the Commonwealth Games and three gold medals at the Asian Games.

Abhinav Bindra
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1982-09-28) 28 September 1982[1]
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
EducationBachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)
Alma materThe Doon School
St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh
University of Colorado
OccupationSportsman (Shooter), businessman
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in) (As of August 2011)
Weight65.5 kg (144 lb) (As of August 2011)
Medal record
Men's shooting
Representing India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 - -
World Shooting Championships 1 - -
Asian Games - 1 2
Commonwealth Games 4 2 1
Total 6 3 3
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle
World 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

With more than 150 medals in his 22-year career, he is the recipient of the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India[5] and is one of the top influencers of sport policy in the country.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Bindra finished fourth in the finals of the 10-meter air rifle event. He also served as a goodwill ambassador for the Rio 2016 Olympics Indian contingent, having been appointed to that post by the Indian Olympics Association (IOA). On September 5, 2016, he announced his retirement.[6]

Bindra's primary outreach to Indian sports is through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to integrate sports, science, and technology into Indian sports and encourage high-performance physical training.

In 2018, Bindra was bestowed with the prestigious Blue Cross, the ISSF's highest honor.[7][8]

Bindra is also currently a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission.

Career

Early years

Abhinav Bindra was born in Dehradun (Uttarakhand)to a Punjabi family and picked up shooting at an early age. Determined to train with the best possible facilities, which were then not available in India, he would train for prolonged periods in Germany.[9]

Notable international performances

At the age of 15, Bindra was the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. He was also the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. At the 2000 Olympics, he achieved a score of 590, placing him 11th in the qualification round. With that score, he was not able to qualify for the finals. He was also honored with the Arjuna Award that year.

In international competitions, he won his first medal, a bronze, at the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600. He won six gold medals at various international meets that year and received the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sports award.

In the air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he finished with gold in the pairs event and silver in the individual event.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he established a new Olympic record but did not win a medal. He scored 597 in the qualification round and placed third, preceded by Qinan Zhu (599, a new Olympic record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals, Abhinav finished with 97.6 points, last in the field of eight; he was the only player with less than 100 points and dropped to the seventh position.[10]

After these successes, a severe back injury incapacitated him and he was unable to lift a rifle for a year, interrupting his preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bindra returned to compete and won the title at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships with a score of 699.1, qualifying him for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[11]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Bindra titled in the men's 10-meter air rifle event, shooting a total of 700.5. He scored 596 in the qualifying round, finishing fourth, and outscored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5. In the finals, he started with a shot of 10.7, and all others never dipped below 10.0.[12] 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.[13][3]

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, Bindra was honored as the national flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. He also was given the honor of taking the athletes' oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories. Bindra, along with Gagan Narang, shot in unison to set a games record of 1,193 points in the 10-meter air rifle pairs event for men to win India's inaugural gold medal at the 19th Commonwealth Games. He brought home a silver medal in the individual event.[14]

Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships, held in Doha, Qatar.

He lost in the qualification round at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finishing in the 16th place with a score of 594.

In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Bindra again won gold in the men's 10-meter air rifle singles event.[15]

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he came fourth in the men's 10-meter air rifle singles event after losing a shoot-off for the top 3 to Serhiy Kulish, who eventually won the silver medal.[16]

Business career

Bindra has a Bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado.[17] Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics Private Limited, an organization that works to bring science and technology into the sport and healthcare sectors. With ABTP, a group of sports science and advanced physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) centers, the organization has served more than 5,000 athletes and medical patients. Under the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, a non-profit initiative, athletes are provided access to the latest sports technology and high-performance physical training for free.[9] Many athletes from sports such as swimming, badminton, boxing, and para-athletics have benefited from the foundation's various programs.

Since his retirement, Bindra has been involved with the TOP Scheme, one of India's most significant policies for athlete development. He has also been a part of the ISSF and IOC Athlete Commissions, where he has worked for the development of athletes through mental health, financial stability, and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Summer Olympics
Year Event Rank Notes
2000 Sydney 10 m air rifle 11 590
2004 Athens 10 m air rifle 7 694.6
2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle 700.5
2012 London 10 m air rifle 16 594
2016 Rio 10 m air rifle 4 163.8

Personal life

Harper Sport published Bindra's 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 October 27, 2011 at a function in New Delhi.[18] The book received positive reviews,[19][20] and Harshvardhan Kapoor has been cast for the lead role in a future biopic based on the memoir.[21]

Abhinav Bindra Coaching

Awards and accolades

Awards for 2008 Olympic gold medal

References
  1. Athlete Biography: Abhinav Bindra. The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
  2. Gupta, Rishabh (23 June 2020). "International Olympic Day: A revisit to India's history at the Olympic Games". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. "Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold". Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  4. Medalists – India, The official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
  5. Jan 25, TNN |; 2009; Ist, 00:46. "Bindra gets Padma Bhushan; Padma Shri for Dhoni, Bhajji, Advani | More sports News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 July 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. "A legend rides into the sunset – Olympian Abhinav Bindra retires". 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  7. "Raninder and Bindra get awards". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  8. "Abhinav Bindra becomes first Indian to get highest shooting". The Times of India. TOI. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  9. "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.
  10. "Bindra finishes seventh". Rediff. 16 August 2004. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  11. "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.
  12. India's Bindra wins gold in the men's 10m air rifle from the Official Website of Beijing Olympics Archived 14 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold". Rediff. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  14. "Abhinav Bindra won Gold medal in Men's 10m Air Rifle at the 2014 Commonwealth Games". Jagranjosh.com. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  15. "Abhinav Bindra clinches Gold in 10m Air Rifle at Glasgow Commonwealth". news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  16. "Abhinav Bindra misses out on men's 10m air rifle medal, settles for fourth position". The Indian Express. 8 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  17. Ganguly, Madhumita (12 August 2008). "Abhi-nerve cures a nation's yellow fever". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  18. "Maken formally launches Abhinav Bindra's biography". The Times of India. 27 October 2011.
  19. "Hitting bull's eye". Daily Pioneer. 19 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  20. Datta, Sravasti (6 November 2011). "A shot at greatness". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Honorary Degree Conferred". srmuniv.ac.in. SRM University. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  23. "Padma Awards-2009". Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  24. "Mary Kom And Jadav Payeng Receive Honorary Doctorate From KU". northeasttoday.in. Northeast today. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  25. Agencies (19 August 2008). "Central Govt to give Abhinav Bindra 50 lakhs". Express India. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  26. "Shooting Star: Prizes pour in as states honour Bindra". Archived from the original on 14 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  27. "BCCI chief sanctions cash award for Bindra". Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  28. Steel Ministry undertakings announce Rs. 15 lakh cash prize to Abhinav Bindra Archived 22 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  29. "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.
  30. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Jalandhar Edition". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  31. Deshmukh announces Rs 10 lakh cash prize to Bindra Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  32. "Abhinav's Olympic Gold brings nostalgia to Orissa CM". Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  33. TN announces Rs 5 lakh for Bindra Archived 17 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  34. Mittal lends a hand to India's Olympic hero Archived 22 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  35. Archived 2 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
  • Pradhan, Kunal (6 October 2014). "The unlikely hero". India Today. 39 (40): 75.
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Sushil Kumar		 Flagbearer for India
Rio de Janeiro 2016		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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