Abhinav Bindra Born September 28, 1982 (1982-09-28) (age 25)
Abhinav Bindra Born September 28, 1982 (1982-09-28) (age 25)
Dehra Dun, India
Medal record
Competitor for India
Men’s shooting
Olympic Games
Gold 2008 Beijing Men’s 10 m air rifle
ISSF World Shooting Championships
Gold 2006 Zagreb Men’s 10 m Air Rifle
Commonwealth Games
Silver 2002 Manchester Men’s 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Gold 2002 Manchester Men’s 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Bronze 2006 Melbourne Men’s 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Gold 2006 Melbourne Men’s 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Abhinav Bindra is an Indian shooter from Zirakpur, in Mohali district, (near Chandigarh), Punjab and is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. He became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and the first gold medal since 1980 for India by winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He is the first Indian to win an individual Olympic Gold Medal.
Early years
Abhinav Bindra comes from an affluent Sikh family. His parents are Dr A S Bindra and Babli Bindra.
He studied at the Doon School, Dehradun till the 10th standard and then left for St. Stephens School, Chandigarh to pursue shooting.
Career
Early years
Abhinav Bindra potential talent was first spotted by his first coach Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon[6][7]. Abhinav Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. He scored 590 (98,99,98,97,100) placing him 11th in the qualification round, and did not qualify for the finals (only the top 8 compete in the finals).
International performance
He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001.
In the 10 m Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event.
At the 2004 Olympic Games, he scored 597 in the qualification round and was placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 - 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.
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 injuiry.
2008 Beijing Olympics
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
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won the gold for the Men’s 10m Air Rifle final 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. Bindra was tied with Henri Häkkinen heading into his final shot. Bindra scored his highest of the finals - 10.8 (A Bullseye) while Hakkinen came with 9.7 to settle for Bronze medal.
This was India’s first individual gold medal at the Olympics, and the first gold in 28 years, since the Men’s Hockey team won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Awards and recognitions
2000 - Arjuna award.
2001 - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (India’s highest sports award).
Business career
Abhinav Bindra holds an M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, US. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh.