Abhinav Bindra biography
Date of birth : 1982-09-28
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand
Nationality : Indian
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2010-04-29
Credited as : Shooter, Olympic Champion, 10 m Air Rifle champion
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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.
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.
Abhinav made a junior world record score of 597/600 in 2001 Munich World Cup and won bronze; gold in 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games; became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold; Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2001.
In the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, competing in his pet Air rifle event, Bindra won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. During a purple patch, Bindra won six gold medals at various international meets in the European Circuit in 2001. He was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2001.
In the 2004 Athens Olympics, despite breaking the Olympic record Bindra failed to win a medal. But 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.
He studied at the Doon School, Dehradun till the 10th standard and then left for St. Stephens School, Chandigarh to pursue shooting. He did his MBA from the University of Colorado. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics, a PC games peripherals distributor based in Chandigarh.
He did his shooting training in Germany. He practised for 12-14 hours a day at the shooting range that he owns at his farmhouse near Chandigarh.
