Abhinav Apjit Bindra OLY (born 28 September 1982) is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman. [1] He is the first and one of only three Indians to win an Individual Olympic Gold Medal. [2] [3] 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 seven medals at the Commonwealth Games and three medals at the Asian Games.
With more than 150 medals in his 22-year career, he is the recipient of the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India [4] and is one of the top influencers of sport policy in the country. [5]
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 5 September 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. [7]
In 2018, Abhinav was bestowed with the prestigious Blue Cross, the ISSF's highest honor. [8] [9]
Bindra is also currently a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission. [10]
Bindra carried the Olympic torch at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. [11]
Bindra was born in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, to a Punjabi Sikh Khatri family. [12] [13] He was educated at the Doon School in Dehradun and at St. Stephen's School in Chandigarh. [14] He studied business administration at the University of Colorado Boulder. [15] Determined to train with the best possible facilities, which were then not available in India, he would train for prolonged periods in Germany, [16] where he was coached by Gaby Buhlmann. [17]
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 Major Dhyan Chand 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. [18]
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. [19]
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Bindra won the men's 10-meter air rifle event, shooting a total of 700.5. [17] 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. [20] 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. [21] [2]
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. [22]
Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships, held in Doha, Qatar. [23]
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. [24]
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. [25]
Bindra has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado. [15] 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. [16] Many athletes from sports such as swimming, badminton, boxing, and para-athletics have benefited from the foundation's various programs. In 2020, he launched the Abhinav Bindra Sports Medicine and Research Institute at Bhubaneswar with the mission of bringing Global Best Practice to the Indian Healthcare and Sports Medicine Sector. [26]
Since his retirement, Bindra has been involved with the TOP Scheme, one of India's most significant policies for athlete development. He was a member of the ISSF Athlete Committee from 2010 to 2020, serving as Chair from 2014, and was appointed to the IOC Athlete Commission in 2018. [27] [28] In these roles he has worked for the development of athletes through mental health, financial stability, and entrepreneurship initiatives. In 2017 whilst Chair of the ISSF Athletes Committee, Bindra was criticised for approving the removal of three events from the Olympic programme in what was described as an undemocratic and un-transparent manner. [29]
Bindra's net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.[ citation needed ]
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 de Janeiro | 10 m air rifle | 4 | 625.7/163.8 |
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 27 October 2011, at a function in New Delhi. [30] The book received positive reviews, [31] [32] and Harshvardhan Kapoor has been cast for the lead role in a future biopic based on the memoir. [33]
Bindra is a descendant of legendary warrior Hari Singh Nalwa, who was commander-in-chief of the Sikh army during Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign. [34]
Awards for 2008 Olympic gold medal
Anjali Bhagwat is a professional Indian sport shooter. She became the World Number One in 10m Air Rifle in 2002. She also won her first World Cup Final in Milan, in 2003, with a score of 399/400.
India was represented at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne by a 270-member strong contingent comprising 183 sportspersons and 77 officials. 2004 Summer Olympics silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was the flag bearer for India.
Gagan Narang is an Indian sport shooter, supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 10 m Air Rifle Event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with a final score of 701.1 on 30 July 2012. He was also a member of prestigious Padma award committee 2023.
Master Chief Petty Officer Sanjeev Rajput is an Arjuna Awardee Indian sport shooter from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. He was a retired Junior Commissioned Officer in Indian Navy.
The Men's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 11 at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall. Abhinav Bindra became the first ever individual Olympic champion of India.
Gabriele "Gaby" Bühlmann is a Swiss rifle shooter who competed at five Olympic Games from 1988 to 2004.
Thomas Farnik, born 6 January 1967 in Vienna, is an Austrian rifle shooter.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was founded on 17 April, 1951 with a view to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India as well as for self-defense teaching purposes. The NRAI arranges national-level shooting competitions and the trials that determine which athletes will represent the country in international events. It is also responsible for identifying and nurturing talented shooters who will compete in significant global competitions like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games. The first speaker of Lok Sabha, Sh. G.V. Mavlankar founded the NRAI and served as its inaugural president. He was succeeded by Sh. Govind Vallabh Pant, Sh. Lal Bahadur Shastri, Sh. Y. B. Chauhan, Sh. G.S. Dhillon, and Sh. Joginder Singh. Sh. Raninder Singh took over the presidency in December 2010 and has held the position since.
Shooting is an important Olympic sport in India. Of India's 35 Olympic medals, four have come from shooting, including a gold by Abhinav Bindra in the 2008 Olympics. Indian shooters who have excelled at international events include Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Jitu Rai, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Apurvi Chandela, Ronjan Sodhi, Anjali Bhagwat, Heena Sidhu, Shreyasi Singh, Manu Bhaker, Anisa Sayyed, Rahi Sarnobat and Saurabh Chaudhary. Indian shooter Shimon Sharif is a well known shooting expert.
James Charles Huckle is an English sport shooter, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Jonathan William James Hammond is a British sport shooter, who has competed for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the Olympics. He is currently the head coach of the rifle team at the West Virginia University.
Apurvi Singh Chandela is an Indian Shooting player who competes in the 10 metre air rifle event. She won the gold medal in the 2019 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. She is a recipient of Arjuna award.
Ayonika Paul is an Indian shooter who competes in the 10 metre air rifle event. She won the silver medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
India competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1920, although they made their official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Junior Warrant Officer Ravi Kumar is an Indian sport shooter. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon in the men's 10m air rifle team event, along with Abhinav Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he won bronze medal in the men's 10 metre air rifle event. He is a Junior Commissioned Officer in Indian Air Force.
Mehuli Ghosh is an Indian sport shooter. She represents India at international junior shooting championships across the world. Among 123 competitors, she was the only Indian shooting athlete to reach the finals of the 2018 junior shooting competition held in the Czech Republic. She ranked seventh there. In 2018, at the XXI Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast, Australia, she won a silver medal in Women's 10m Air Rifle after a shoot-off with Martina Veloso. As of September 2023, she was ranked 36th in the world and 14th in Asia.
Manu Bhaker OLY is an Indian sport shooter and Olympic medalist. She won two bronze medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She secured a bronze in the women's 10 metre air pistol event, becoming the first female Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal. Subsequently, she earned another bronze medal in the mixed 10 metre air pistol team event, becoming the first Indian woman to win two medals in a single Olympics.
Anjum Moudgil is an Indian sport shooter. She is from Chandigarh and represents Punjab. She is supported by GoSports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.
Saurabh Chaudhary is an Indian sport shooter. He won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in 10 m Air Pistol. He was the youngest Indian gold medalist at the Asian Games. He had earlier won gold medals and set a new junior world record in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. He is the only Indian shooter to win a gold medal in ISSF World Championship, ISSF World Cup, Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games and Asian Air Gun Championship. He broke his own world record with a score of 245.5 and claimed gold in Junior Men 10m Air Pistol at 2018 World Championship in Changwon, Korea.
Avani Lekhara is an Indian Paralympian and rifle shooter from Rajasthan. She won a gold medal in the 10m air rifle standing and a bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. As of January 2023, Lekhara is ranked world no. 1 in Women's 10m Air Rifle standing SH1 and has competed in the 2018 Asian Para Games. She is currently supported by OGQ. She is also the first Indian woman to win multiple medals in a single Paralympic Games. She has been given out of turn appointment as Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) by the Government of Rajasthan.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Three-time Olympic medallist Rajmond Debevec has criticized the ISSF and its athletes committee headed by Abhinav Bindra, for scrapping three existing events from the 2020 Olympics, arguing that the process was non-transparent, and that gender equality could have been achieved using a more democratic decision-making process.