Medal record
Men's shooting
Competitor for  India
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
Gold	2002 Manchester	Men's 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Silver	2002 Manchester	Men's 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Gold	2006 Melbourne	Men's 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Bronze	2006 Melbourne	Men's 10m Air Rifle (Singles)
Gold	2010 Delhi	Men's 10m Air Rifle (Pairs)
Silver	2010 Delhi	Men's 10m Air Rifle

Abhinav Singh Bindra (Punjabi: ਅਭਿਨਵ ਬਿੰਦਰਾ, born September 28, 1982^[1]) is an Indian shooter from Zirakpur, Mohali, Punjab and is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 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.^[2][3]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Abhinav Bindra was born in an affluent Punjabi Sikh family.^[4] He did his initial formative education at St. Stephen's School Chandigarh.^[5] His parents had an indoor shooting range installed at their home in Patiala, Punjab.^[6][7] His Mental Coach was Amit Bhattacharjee, who has been closely associated with him since the beginning of his career.^[8] Bhattacharjee and Lt. Col. Dhillon (who was also his first Coach) were the first ones to spot the potential in Abhinav.^[9][10][11] Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games.^[7] His current coach is five-time Olympic shooter Gabriele Bühlmann from Basel, Switzerland, with whom he trained in Germany before the Olympics. In the 2000 Olympics Bindra achieved a score of 590, placing him 11th in the qualification round, and did not qualify for the finals since only the top eight competed in the finals.^[12]

Notable international performance[link]

• At 15, Abhinav Bindra became the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. His fame to honour though came when he won a Bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600. Bindra was also the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games.
• 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 Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event. Bindra also won Silver in the individual event.
• In the 2004 Athens Olympics, despite breaking the Olympic record Bindra failed to win a medal. 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.^[13]

• On July 24, 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 missed the 2006 Asian Games at Doha because of a back injury.

But it was after this success that he started suffering from a severe back injury. So much so that he was unable to compete or even lift a rifle for a year, upsetting his preparations for the Beijing Games. However, Bindra put all speculation to rest, bringing India perhaps her biggest sporting glory ever. 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.^[14]

• 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.^[15] Bindra was tied with Henri Häkkinen heading into his final shot. Bindra scored his highest of the finals – 10.8 while Hakkinen came with 9.7 to settle for the Bronze medal.^[16] It has been alleged that Abhinav Bindra's gun was tampered with between the qualifying and final round of the event, though no official complaint was filed by the Indian contingent.^[17]

This was India's first individual gold medal at the Olympics, and the first gold in 28 years, since the men's field hockey team won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.^[2] Bindra was rewarded by various Indian state governments and private organizations for his achievement.

• When the 2010 Commonwealth Games were held in New-Delhi, Abhinav Bindra got the honour of being the Indian contingent's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. He also got the honour of taking the athletes’ oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories on that occasion. Abhinav Bindra along with Gagan Narang shot in unison to set a Games record 1193 in 10m air rifle pair's event for men to win the first gold for India in the 19th Commonwealth Games. The duo scored 1193 together to break their earlier record of 1189 achieved in the last Games held four years prior in Melbourne. However the Olympic Champion had to settle for silver in the individual event. His countryman Gagan Narang, who shot a perfect 600 to equal his own world record in men’s 10m individual air rifle qualification, won the Gold.

Abhinav Bindra won the Gold medal in the Men's 10 metre Air rifle event at 12th Asian Shooting Championships, which was held in Doha Qatar.

Business career[link]

He holds a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from the University of Colorado, US.^[18] Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, the sole distributor of Walther arms in India. Abhinav has sponsorship tie-ups with Samsung, BSNL and Sahara Group.^[6] He 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.

Awards and recognition[link]

• 2000 – Arjuna award.
• 2001 – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (India's highest sports award).
• 2009 – Padma Bhushan.^[19]
• 2011 - Honorary Lieutenant Colonel by Indian Territorial Army

Awards for 2008 Olympics Gold medal

• 1.5 crore (US$299,250) by Mittal Champions Trust
• 50 lakh (US$99,800) cash prize by Central Govt^[20]
• 25 lakh (US$49,900) cash prize by the State Government of Haryana.^[21]
• 25 lakh (US$49,900) cash prize by the Board of Control for Cricket in India^[22]
• 15 lakh (US$29,900) cash prize by Steel Ministry of India^[23]
• 11 lakh (US$21,900) cash prize by the State Government of Bihar. The Patna Indoor Stadium will be renamed after Abhinav Bindra.^[21]
• 10 lakh (US$20,000) prize by the State Government of Karnataka^[24]
• 10 lakh (US$20,000) cash prize by S. Amolak Singh Gakhal, Chairman Golds Gym^[25]
• 10 lakh (US$20,000) cash prize by Chief Minister of Maharashtra state^[26]
• 5 lakh (US$10,000) cash prize by State Government of Orissa^[27]
• 5 lakh (US$10,000) cash prize by Government of Tamil Nadu^[28]
• 1 lakh (US$2,000) cash prize by the State Government of Chhattisgarh^[21]
• 1 lakh (US$2,000) cash prize by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh
• A free lifetime railway pass by the Railway Ministry of India^[29]
• A Gold medal by the State Government of Kerala.^[30]
• 15 lakh (US$29,900) cash award by Pune Municipal Corporation.^[31]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Abhinav Bindra's Profile & Records
• Official profile of Abhinav Bindra at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Gagan Narang (Punjabi:ਗਗਨ ਨਾਰੰਗ Hindi: गगन नारंग ) is an ace Indian shooter, especially in Air rifle shooting, supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He is the first Indian to qualify for the London Olympics.

Career[link]

Gagan Narang added 4 gold medals to the Indian tally at the recently concluded 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. In the Men's 10 m air rifle singles event, he shot a perfect 600 which was a new record. ^[2] Gagan also clinched a silver medal in his pet event at the Asian Games 2010. He also combined with Abhinav Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput to provide the country with another silver, in the team event behind champions China. Both of his silves were won on the opening day of Asian Games^[3]

Gagan Narang is a gold medalist in the Afro Asian games, 2003 in Hyderabad on October 26, 2003 in Men's 10m air rifle competition.^[4] He had won an air rifle gold medal at the World Cup 2006 and followed that event in April 2008.

In a pre-Olympic event in Hannover, Germany, Gagan shot an air rifle score higher than the world record, 704.3 as opposed to 703.1 set by Thomas Farnik of Austria in the World Cup 2006.

Gagan qualified for the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final after he won a bronze in the World Cup in China earlier in 2008. Gagan shot a perfect 600 in the qualification round. He scored 103.5 in the final round making total score of 703.5 to gain the world record.^[5][6] He broke Austria's Thomas Farnik's record, set in the 2006 World Cup final in Granada, Spain. Gagan said his win was special because Barack Obama, who won the United States' Presidential election on same day, was a source of inspiration.^[7]

ISSF World Medal Tally[link]

No.	Event	Championship	Year	Place	Medal
1	10 metre air rifle	ISSF World Shooting Championships	2010	Munich	03 !
2	10 metre air rifle	ISSF World Cup	2010	Beijing	03 !
3	50m Rifle 3 Positions	ISSF World Cup	2009	Changwon	01 !
4	10m air rifle	ISSF World Cup	2009	Changwon	03 !
5	10 metre air rifle	ISSF World Cup Final	2008	Bangkok	01 !
6	10m air rifle	ISSF World Cup	2008	Beijing	03 !
7	10m air rifle	ISSF World Cup	2006	Guangzhou	01 !

World record[link]

Current world records held in men's 10 metre air rifle
Men	Qualification	600	Tevarit Majchacheep (THA)  Denis Sokolov (RUS)  Gagan Narang (IND)  Gagan Narang (IND)	January 27, 2000 March 1, 2008 November 5, 2008 October 6, 2010	Langkawi (MAS) Winterthur (SUI) Bangkok (THA) New Delhi (IND)	edit
	Final	703.8	Zhu Quinan (CHN) (600+103.8)	september, 2011	poland edit

Controversy[link]

In Aug, 2010 Gagan has publicly expressed his displeasure after not getting the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and he threatened to skip the 2010 Commonwealth Games due to lack of motivation.^[8][9] But he participated and won multiple gold medals.^[10]

Award[link]

In recognition with his achievements, Gagan Narang was conferred with the Padma Shree Award in 2010.^[11] Gagan Narang has been selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for 2010. This is the highest sports award in the country. ^[12] He was conferred the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by President Pratibha Patil on August 29 2011. ^[13]

References[link]