Profile: Abhinav Bindra

Profile: Abhinav Bindra

Age: 25 (Date of birth: September 28, 1982)

Place of birth : Dehradun, India

Winner: 10m air rifle

Career achievements:

Gold medallist, 2006 World Championships, 10m Air Rifle

Fourth place, 2005 Asian Championships, 10m Air Rifle

Previous Olympic result:
Seventh place, 2004 Olympics, 10m Air Rifle

Seventh place, 2004 Olympics, 10m Air Rifle

Bindra got into shooting at the age of 15 because he liked the idea of being into fame. He has been following a rigorous training session that include seven hours of shooting and two hours of stretching and jogging every day.

A gold medallist at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, Bindra became the first Indian to clinch an Olympic berth for Athens 2004 with a bronze medal at the Munich world Championships. He did break the Olympic record in Athens but that was not enough to win a medal as his peers did even better.

Bindra, also a Khel Ratna and Arjuna awardee, bravely fought a career-threatening back injury, which forced him out of the Doha Asian Games. He booked his Beijing berth by winning the 2006 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia - a first by an Indian.