Abhinav Singh Bindra is an Indian shooter and is a World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. He won the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Thus he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. It was also India`s first gold medal since 1980, when the Men`s Field Hockey Team won the gold. He is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time. At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, Abhinav Singh Bindra came fourth in the Men`s 10m Air Rifle singles event after losing a shoot off for the top 3 to Serhiy Kulish, who finally won the silver.
Early Life of Abhinav Singh Bindra
Abhinav Singh Bindra was born on 28th September in the year 1982, in Dehradun. Abhinav Bindra was born in the home of Punjabi Sikh family. He studied at The Doon School for two years before moving to St. Stephen`s School, Chandigarh; he graduated from Stephen`s in 2000. His parents had an indoor shooting range installed at their home in Patiala, Punjab. His Mentor was Dr. Amit Bhattacharjee who has been closely associated with him since the beginning of his career. At 15, Abhinav Singh Bindra became the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Career of Abhinav Singh Brinda
Abhinav Singh Bindra began his career from Commonwealth Games. Later In the 2000 Olympics Bindra achieved a score of 590, placing him 11th in the qualification round, meaning he did not qualify for the finals since only the top eight competed in the finals. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In 2000 he was honoured with the Arjuna Award and the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2001. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, despite breaking the Olympic record Abhinav Bindra failed to win a medal. He scored 597 in the qualification round and was placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 - new Olympic Record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals, he 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. On 24th July 2006, Bindra became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold in Zagreb. Dr. Karni Singh`s Silver in 1962 was the previous best by an Indian in a World Championship meet.
At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs event and the Bronze in the Singles event. Abhinav Singh Bindra missed the 2006 Asiad Games at Doha because of a back injury. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Singh Bindra won the gold in the Men`s 10m Air Rifle event 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.
Later Career of Abhinav Singh Brinda
In 2014, Abhinav Singh Bindra joined the GoSports Foundation, Bengaluru as a member of their board of advisors. In May 2016, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) appointed Abhinav Singh Bindra as the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio 2016 Olympic Games Indian Contingent. Abhinav Singh Bindra holds a B.B.A. from the University of Colorado, United States. Now, Abhinav Singh Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, the sole distributor of Walther Arms in India. Abhinav Singh Bindra has sponsorship tie-ups with Samsung, BSNL and Sahara Group. Abhinav Singh Bindra is also the brand ambassador by State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. and also a member of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Sports Committee since 2010.
Abhinav Singh Bindra in Rio Olympics 2016
In 2016 Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro, he came fourth in the Men`s 10m Air Rifle singles event after losing a shoot off for the top 3. In May 2016, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) appointed Abhinav Bindra as the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio 2016 Olympic Games Indian Contingent.
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