Abhinav Bindra----Shot On Gold & History Created

The drought of gold medals for India is over. Shooter Abhinav Bindra has clinched India's first ever individual gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in Men's 10 metre Air Rifle Shooting Competition. His final score read 700.5.

Prior to today, the top individual Olympic performance by an Indian was Abhinav’s teammate, Rajyavardhan Rathore, who won individual silver in Athens in the men’s Double Trap event.The 25-year-old, who qualified fourth for the event, shot an overall score of (596+140.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot.In the ten rounds, Bindra shot 10.7, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.5, 10.5, 10.6, 10.0, 10.2 and 10.8 to clinch the gold. Bindra started the finals in third position but improved his performance and consistently shot well to claim the first place defeating China’s Qinan Zhu. Finland’s Henri Hakkinen faltered on the final shot and finished third.

Abhinav Bindra is the brightest star among a new breed of talented Indian shooters. Born on September 28, 1983, Bindra is quite often criticized for not delivering on the promise he showed as a child prodigy.

Coming from an affluent family and with the luxury of an indoor range in his backyard, Bindra proved to an early bird and, at 15, was the youngest participant at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Bindra shot into limelight by winning a bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600.

He is the best shooter in the world and I think his is a morale boosting feat for everyone in the contingent,” a jubilant Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said after Bindra’s win.
We are all very happy. He is a very hardworking athlete. The entire shooting contingent is celebrating. We are very proud of him and it is just the beginning,” national coach Sunny Thomas said.

The entire country erupted in joy and celebrations when the reports of his great victory flashed across the television channels. Emotions are high in India, as tearful people welcomed this great news.This gold will prove to be morale booster for the entire Indian contingent and we might have many more medals heading our way.