Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Bindra (born September 28, 1982, Dehradun, India) is an Indian rifle shooter and winner of the men’s 10-metre air rifle competition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. He is India’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medalist.
Bindra took up rifle shooting in his mid-teens and quickly advanced in the sport. He qualified for and competed at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics but did not medal. At the 2001 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, Bindra won a bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event, establishing a junior world record with an initial phase score of 597 out of a maximum 600 points. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, he captured two medals—a gold in the pairs event and a silver in the individual event of the 10-metre air rifle competition. He again won a pairs gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, along with a bronze in the solo event. Also in 2006 Bindra won the 10-metre air rifle gold at the ISSF World Championships, becoming the first Indian rifle shooter to place first at a World Championship competition.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Bindra made history when he won the men’s 10-metre air rifle competition, becoming the first Indian competitor to win an individual Olympic gold medal. He attempted to defend his rifle shooting medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, but he did not advance beyond the qualifying rounds. Bindra fared better at the 2014 Asian Games, held in Inch’ŏn, South Korea, where he won bronze medals for both the individual and team events in the 10-metre air rifle competition. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he placed fourth in the men’s 10-metre air rifle event, falling just short of winning another Olympic medal.
Shortly after the 2016 Olympics, Bindra retired from the sport, allowing him more time to pursue his various entrepreneurial activities, including ABTP, a physiotherapy and rehabilitation centre. He is also the founder of the Abhinav Bindra Foundation. In 2009 Bindra received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, and in 2018 he was awarded the Blue Cross by the ISSF for his exceptional services to the sport of shooting. His autobiography, A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold, written with Rohit Brijnath, was published in 2011.