It was surreal watching Abhinav Bindra’s shoulders rise and fall as he laughed gently on August 11, having done what no Indian ever had. He had won India’s first individual gold medal in the Olympics, hitting the mark in the 10 metre Air Rifle event in Beijing. Emotions surged across India, for sure Bindra’s did too. However, he kept it in check, making way into the arms of his coach, Gabriele Buhlmann. The moment was the closest possible to nirvana on earth.
If ever a wish on a shooting star had come true, it was on that day — for India. An extremely unassuming 25-year-old ended the nation’s 108-year parched wait for an individual Olympic gold. No hype, but pure and unadulterated performance. And, that’s what makes Bindra’s feat shine the brightest in 2008, perhaps the most memorable year for Indian sport.
Giving no impression of brawn or overt aggression (the fire raged within), the bespectacled man shattered stereotypes and myths. The soft-spoken and always nattily dressed Bindra does give the impression of being a top executive of a multi-national firm. However, put him on a shooting range and see the transformation.
Initiated into the sport at a young age, Bindra went up the ladder step by step to be the Olympic champion. His mother Babli believes his liking for shooting grew from the inspiration he drew from his grandfather who was in the army. Once his parents knew that he was serious about shooting, they made all the right moves for the boy to grow as a shooter. The encouragement culminated in a private range to train and practice and a foreign coach in preparation for the Olympics.
Bindra’s career had been jeopardised by a back injury a couple of years back. He initially thought he could never make a comeback. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, his score of 590 found him placing 11th in the qualification round. He did not qualify for the finals. In 2004, he had scored 597 in the qualification round and was placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 — 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. He dropped from third to seventh.
Four years on, he beat Zhu, the defending champion. Before the final round, Bindra by his own admission was nervous. In fact, he survived some anxious moments in the final stages when something was wrong with his gun, leading to speculations of sabotage. After a break during competition, when he fired his rifle something was amiss. However, he did not lose composure and went about his job without losing focus. Bindra has set in place a system where his sports schools will provide facilities for sportsmen and also promote education. He hopes that “my medal changes the face of India’s Olympic sports. It can’t be better than this. Can it? It’s the best feeling of my life,” Bindra had said on August 11, soon after his golden feat. But that’s just a statement. The intent says — there certainly can be an encore.
ashokvenugopal@yahoo.com