Abhinav Bindra

Last updated

Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Bindra and Mary Kom - British High Commission, Delhi, 27 July 2011 (cropped).jpg
Bindra in 2011
Personal information
Full nameAbhinav Apjit Bindra
NationalityIndian
Born (1982-09-28) 28 September 1982 (age 41) [1]
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Education Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)
Alma mater The Doon School
St. Stephen's School, Chandigarh
University of Colorado
Occupation(s)Fmr Sport shooter, Businessman
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight65.5 kg (144 lb)
Medal record
Men's shooting
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Event1st2nd3rd
Olympic Games 1––
World Shooting Championships 1––
Asian Games –12
Commonwealth Games 421
Total633
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Zagreb 10 m Air Rifle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Delhi 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Glasgow 10m Air Rifle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2002 Manchester 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Delhi 10m Air Rifle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Asian Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Guangzhou 10m Air Rifle (Team)
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Incheon 10m Air Rifle (Team)
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Incheon Men's 10m Air Rifle

Abhinav Apjit Bindra (born 28 September 1982) is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman. [1] He is the first and one of only two 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.

Contents

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.[ citation needed ]

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. [5]

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.[ citation needed ]

In 2018, Abhinav was bestowed with the prestigious Blue Cross, the ISSF's highest honor. [6] [7]

Bindra is also currently a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission. [8]

Abhinav Bindra, the Indian Olympic champion, is set to carry the Olympic torch at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. This prestigious honor comes as part of the Olympic torch relay happening from April 16 to July 26.

Career

Early years

Bindra was born in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, to a Punjabi Sikh Khatri family. [9] [10] He was educated at the Doon School in Dehradun and at St. Stephen's School in Chandigarh. [11] He studied business administration at the University of Colorado Boulder. [12] Determined to train with the best possible facilities, which were then not available in India, he would train for prolonged periods in Germany, [13] where he was coached by Gaby Buhlmann. [14]

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 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. [15]

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. [16]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Bindra won the men's 10-meter air rifle event, shooting a total of 700.5. [14] 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. [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] [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. [19]

Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10-meter air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships, held in Doha, Qatar. [20]

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. [21]

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. [22]

Business career

Bindra has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado. [12] 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. [13] 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. [23]

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. [24] [25] 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. [26]

Bindra's net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.[ citation needed ]

Summer Olympics

YearEventRankNotes
2000 Sydney 10 m air rifle 11590
2004 Athens 10 m air rifle 7694.6
2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle Gold medal icon.svg700.5
2012 London 10 m air rifle 16594
2016 Rio 10 m air rifle 4625.7/163.8

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 27 October 2011, at a function in New Delhi. [27] The book received positive reviews, [28] [29] and Harshvardhan Kapoor has been cast for the lead role in a future biopic based on the memoir. [30]

Abhinav Bindra Coaching Abhinav Bindra Coaching.png
Abhinav Bindra Coaching

Awards and accolades

Awards for 2008 Olympic gold medal

Bibliography

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India at the 2006 Commonwealth Games</span> Sporting event delegation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gagan Narang</span> Indian sport shooter

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjeev Rajput</span> Indian sport shooter

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Farnik</span> Austrian sport shooter

Thomas Farnik, born 6 January 1967 in Vienna, is an Austrian rifle shooter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Rifle Association of India</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shooting sports in India</span> Recreational and competitive level shooting in India

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.

James Charles Huckle is an English sport shooter, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won three gold medals at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in India and at the 2010 Commonwealth Games he won a total of four medals, two silver and two bronze.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apurvi Chandela</span> Indian sport shooter (born 1993)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">India at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravi Kumar (sport shooter)</span> Indian sport shooter

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehuli Ghosh</span> Indian sport shooter (born 2000)

Mehuli Ghosh is an Indian sport shooter, supported by OGQ. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manu Bhaker</span> Indian sport shooter

Manu Bhaker is an Indian Olympian who competes at shooting, supported by OGQ. She represented India at the 2018 ISSF World Cup and won two gold medals. She is the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the ISSF World Cup. She won the gold medal in women's 10 m air pistol event at 2018 Commonwealth Games just at the age of 16 in her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance. She won the team gold for India in the women’s 25m pistol team event at the Asian Games, along with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjum Moudgil</span> Indian sport shooter

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saurabh Chaudhary</span> Indian sport shooter

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avani Lekhara</span> Indian rifle shooter and Paralympic medalist

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 has been supported by GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme. 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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Athlete Biography: Abhinav Bindra". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Abhinav Bindra wins 10m air rifle gold". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "Medalists – India". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008.
  4. ↑ "Bindra gets Padma Bhushan; Padma Shri for Dhoni, Bhajji, Advani". The Times of India. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "A legend rides into the sunset – Olympian Abhinav Bindra retires". sportscafe.in. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Raninder and Bindra get awards". The Hindu. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  7. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra becomes first Indian to get highest shooting". The Times of India. TOI. 30 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Athletes' Commission". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  9. ↑ "Will Abhinav again hit the bulls eye at CWG?". oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "Games Talk: Abhinav Bindra". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "Schools Spotlight on Team Abhinav Bindra". news.bbc.co.uk. 8 April 2011.
  12. 1 2 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 1 2 Sharda Ugra (1 July 2016). "Abhinav Bindra's historic solo". ESPN.in. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Bindra finishes seventh". Rediff.com. 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ↑ "India's Bindra wins gold in the men's 10m air rifle". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  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. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra wins gold in Asian Shooting Championship". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ Clinton, Nevin (30 October 2020). "Abhinav Bindra launches sports medicine and research institute in Bhubaneswar » FirstSportz". firstsportz.com. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra OLY joins the IOC Athletes' Commission". Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  25. ↑ "Bindra appointed member of IOC's elite Athletes' Commission". insidesport.in. 9 August 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Bindra panel recommendations undemocratic and non-transparent, says Rajmond Debevec". ESPN.in. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2023. 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.
  27. ↑ "Maken formally launches Abhinav Bindra's biography". The Times of India . 27 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013.
  28. ↑ "Hitting bull's eye". Daily Pioneer. 19 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ "Harshvardhan Kapoor excited to play Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, shares photo with sports star". indianexpress.com. 6 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  31. ↑ "Honorary Degree Conferred". srmuniv.ac.in. SRM University. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  32. ↑ "Padma Awards-2009". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  33. ↑ "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.
  34. ↑ 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.
  35. 1 2 3 "Shooting Star: Prizes pour in as states honour Bindra". ibnlive.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  36. ↑ "BCCI chief sanctions cash award for Bindra". cricketnext.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  37. ↑ "Steel Ministry undertakings announce Rs. 15 lakh cash prize to Abhinav Bindra". newindpress.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008.
  38. ↑ "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.
  39. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Jalandhar Edition". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  40. ↑ "Deshmukh announces Rs 10 lakh cash prize to Bindra". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  41. ↑ "Abhinav's Olympic Gold brings nostalgia to Orissa CM". orissadiary.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  42. ↑ "TN announces Rs 5 lakh for Bindra". chennaivision.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008.
  43. ↑ "Mittal lends a hand to India's Olympic hero". mynews.in. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  44. ↑ Archived 2 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for India
Rio de Janeiro 2016 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.