Abhinav Bindra qualifies for 2012 Olympics

Beijing Olympics gold-medal-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra Saturday gave India its eighth quota place for the 2012 London Olympics with an eighth-place finish in the ISSF World Cup in Munich.

The seven other Indian shooters to win quota places were: Gagan Narang (rifle), Hari Om Singh (prone) Ronjan Sodhi (double trap), Sanjeev Rajput (three position), Vijay Kumar, Annu Raj Singh and Rahi Sarnobat (all pistol).

This was Bindra's last chance to win a quota place for the country and the 10-metre air rifle champion trained for two weeks with his coach Gaby Buhlman before reaching Munich.

Bindra shot a qualification score of 596 points, which tied him with eight others, but made it to the finals with 52.6 points in the shoot-off.

He started the final at seventh place, but with two disappointing shots of 9.3 and 9.8 points, he came hurtling down to the eighth place. Competing with Are Hansen and Peter Hellenbrand, he scored a total of 100.7 points in the final and finished with a total score of 696.7 points (596+100.7).

He was awarded an Olympic Quota Place, securing a qualification spot for India at the next 2012 Olympic Games since the others in the field had already booked their berth for London.

"It has been a long way through," said Bindra.

“I am happy that I finally reached this Olympic Quota Place to participate in the 2012Games."

"I will have to go through trials to make it to the Olympic team, I believe. Now that I have a Quota, life seems easier."

Bindra, 28, is currently ranked 31 in the ISSF world ranking for this event. After victory at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he had never made it to an ISSF final again, finishing in 25th place at the 2010 ISSF World Championship in Munich.

London to host 2011 Badminton World Championships

London has won the right to stage the 2011 Badminton World Championships.

Wembley Arena will host the event, which is staged annually apart from in an Olympic year, from 8-14 August.

The arena will also be the venue for the sport at the capital's 2012 Olympic Games after organisers decided against building a new venue in Stratford.

Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said hosting the competition one year out from the Games made the event "even more special".

Christy added: "I would like to assure the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the players that Badminton England will do all that is possible to make the first BWF World Championships in London a truly wonderful experience for all concerned.

"I would also like reiterate our appreciation to the BWF for their confidence in Badminton England to host the World Championships.

"We have just staged the European Badminton Championships in Manchester and we are now looking forward to the countdown to the 2011 World Championships."

The tournament was last staged in Britain in 2003 in Birmingham, while this year's championships take place in Paris.

Wembley Arena will also be the venue for the sport at the 2012 Games after organisers decided against building a temporary venue at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

China's Lin Dan is the reigning men's champion, having won the last three titles, while compatriot Lu Lan is the women's champion.

Abhinav Bindra's former agents threaten legal action

India's Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra finds himself at the centre of a bitter row between two management companies who are fighting to keep
his marketing rights in the wake of his new-found celebrity status.

Collage Sports, which managed Bindra's endorsements before his Olympic stardom, has threatened to move court after their contract was terminated by the shooter.

Meanwhile his new agents said they were not unduly perturbed by these legal threats
which the rival company has been making for the last few months.

Bindra, who inked a deal with Collage in 2003 and then renewed it in 2006 till August 2009, ended the contract a year before its expiry and passed on the job to B Formula
Entertainment, the firm that has been managing their family-owned business.

Claiming it to be an "unethical" move, Latika Khaneja of Collage Sports said she has decided to move court against Bindra.

"For five years (before Abhinav's Olympic gold medal) I ran his account with no income. But a lot changed after his Olympic achievement. They started approaching clients because they do not want to share their money with anyone," Khaneja
claimed.

As per the agreement with Bindra, Collage was entitled to get 30 per cent of all endoresement deals that the shooter signed.

But a source close to the Bindra family said said they did not want to get into any war of words with Collage, insisting that there was "nothing illegal" on terminating the
contract and that Khaneja was free to take legal recourse.


"Abhinav Bindra is a shooter, he is not a businessman and does not understand all this. But yes he wants money, everybody does, after all it is an expensive sport," the
source said.

"It's three months that she is threatening to move the court, why has she not done that yet? We have simply used the clause of terminating the contract before time because we feel our purpose was not being served by that company," the source said.

Indians have best hand-eye coordination: Abhinav Bindra

The country's first-ever Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra believes Indian players have the gift of a perfect hand-eye co-ordination which sets them apart from the rest of the world.

The shooting champion also reckons that even foreign spinners, who have done extremely well in world cricket, had some connection with India.

"I believe what Indians can do, no South African or Australian can do. Even the best spinners of other nations are of Indian origin," Bindra said at a programme organised by FICCI here on Wednesday.

The Chandigarh-based marksman urged sportspersons to develop the attributes of 'attitude', 'motivation' and 'focus' to become successful in the international arena.

"Attitude, motivation and focus are the three values in particular that were key to my success. I always set my standards high. I always wanted to be the best, not only in India but also in the world," he said.

"Since my father is a successful businessman may be some of my attitude comes from him and certainly they were extremely crucial to me and my success."

Explaining his way of approaching challenges in life and in competitions, he said self-motivation was imperative in achieving the desired results.

"There are three things that I think affects motivation. Sight of the reward, sight of the task and how confident you feel that you are going to succeed. I became highly motivated because I learnt how to reward myself," said the 10 metre rifle shooter.

On a question about his ideal match, the marksman said he would love to have a life partner who enjoys sports.

Abhinav shoots with New Rifle

Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra on Tuesday had a different experience altogether shooting with different guns at the ITBP's shooting range here during a police sports meet.

"It was my first experience, a different one, shooting using an (indigenously built) Insas rifle and a .9 mm pistol. After firing from the rifle, there was this big bang," Bindra said after opening the 52nd All India Police Duty Meet-Shooting hosted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the its Basic Training Centre in Panchkula.

Asked if he had given tips to the shooters present at the range, the 25-year-old ace marksman quipped, "I was actually taking tips from them myself".

Bindra has been using a Walther-make air rifle for the past 10 years.

Twenty eight teams belonging to Central Police Forces and State Police Organisations, holding aloft their respective flags, gave a sterling display of their parade and honoured the ace shooter.

ITBP's Inspector General P P Singh stressed the significance of the meet, saying "it would be a precursor to future shooters who would bring glory to the country in the days to come".

Asked that the Armed Forces were facing shortage of officers, Bindra said the youth should be encouraged more to take it up as a career.

"I have great respect for the Armed forces. My grandfather was in the Army. I think we need to encourage our youth more and motivate them to join the forces as they offer a secure career full of thrill and adventure and at the same time one can serve the nation the best," Bindra said.

Nothing has changed: Abhinav Bindra

What has changed since the Olympic gold?
Everything, yet nothing. Let me explain. As a person, a professional shooter, as a son, friend, colleague, I remain the same person. I was a single shot away from a goal I had dreamt about and assiduously worked for more than half my life. My family’s love and faith in me hasn’t changed. It won’t. On another plane, everything, just about everything has changed. For one, I have the unqualified love of a billion-plus people. For another, those close to me believe I have made a difference to the way Indians think about sport. Wherever I go, interact, speak, mingle with the high and mighty, the hoi polloi, I am treated with admiration bordering on awe. It is at times unnerving, but mostly, I enjoy this attention.

Has the achievement brought a change to the sport of shooting?
Not that I know of. Judging from what people say, one would like to believe that institutional change is in the air. Direct government or association inspired change to the sport of shooting is, however, not yet evident, at least to me. The government and the sporting associations are obviously under no obligation to share their plans for the conceptualisation, the piloting of change with me. What I am sure about is that the realisation that we need to do far more than we have so far.

Is there enough being done to promote Olympic sport?
I am not privy to the working model of the government or the associations. Having said that, my feeling on the subject is that we have no time to lose. This is why I have not waited for the government, the associations to take initiative. The Abhinav Bindra Ace Public Schools (ABAPS) will be my vehicle to achieve my dream of achieving excellence. The die has been cast.

India's golden boy comes home

Bindra's father Apjit Singh Bindra, mother Babli Bindra (right), his sister Divya Kapoor and brother-in-law Angad Kapoor were present at the airport to receive him.

Courtesy : Rediff

Making of a winner : Abhinav Bindra

The shooting star: Abhinav Bindra at his residence after returning from Europe.

Celebration of Abhinav Bindra's gold medal

A child paints Indian tricolor on her face to celebrate Abhinav Bindra's gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

India Olympic Hero Gets Boost from Mittal

The country's first individual gold medal winner, Abhinav Bindra, received crucial funds for training from a trust set up by ArcelorMittal's chairman

It's no surprise that when Bindra, who is now the toast of the nation, ran out of bullets for practice he had to turn to an unlikely source for help: Lakshmi Mittal, one of the richest men in the world and another of India's celebrated sons. Mittal, who is chairman of ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker, left India many decades ago, but maintains a keen interest in the country. At sporting events—like the 2004 Olympics in Athens—he and his family found themselves cheering for teams picked at random because no Indians had even managed to make it past the qualifiers.

But at the 2005 Wimbledon tennis tournament, he met India's Mahesh Bhupathi, a player who has had considerable success in mixed doubles. Bhupathi and a friend convinced Mittal to put up $10 million to help support a few athletes with an eye toward the London Olympics in 2012, when the Games will be held in Mittal's backyard—he lives in Kensington and can sometimes be seen riding a bicycle in Hyde Park. Regarding Bindra's Beijing triumph, "I am absolutely delighted," says Mittal, whose Mittal Champions Trust got Bindra a physical therapist, a mental trainer, and on that day when the bullets ran out, cartridges to practice with. "This is a great day for Indian sports."

Mittal's trust is administered by his son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, and this year it supported 14 Indian athletes at the Olympics. Many, unlike Bindra, are from less affluent backgrounds, reflecting the kind of conditions under which most of India lives. Archer Laishram Bombayla Devi, who picked up a bow and arrow after seeing people hunt in the fields near her home in rural India, said she spent two years without a coach until the trust stepped in. Now she trains with a foreign coach, for which the trust pays, and has a structured and disciplined training process. "The trust is a lifesaver for a lot of athletes who are not getting any help," she says.

From : www.businessweek.com

Celebrations back home:Abhinav Bindra's Home

Shooter Abhinav Bindra's father AS Bindra along with his wife Babli Bindra after hearing of their son's won gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. They celebrate with their relatives and near dears at Bindra farms house at Zirakpur near Chandigarh on August 11, 2008.


There was magic at St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, on Monday. "All of you ask for whatever you wish, you will get your wish fulfilled," said Gokul Chand, the magician at the school where Abhinav spent five years from 1995-2000 as a student.

St Stephen's, at sec 45, breaks into delirious joyHe couldn't be blamed for being so overexcited because Abhinav had just won a gold at the Olympics. "Special attention, so listen carefully, Abhinav has gold," announced Harlod Carvo, the principal. The "uninhibited self-expression" saw students congratulating and hugging each other and. The teachers, too, chose raucousness over somberness. Balveen Cheema, who taught him English through 10th and 11th , said: "He often used to get me a rose from his father's garden." She added: "He, perhaps, was destined for greatness."


Abhinav's alma mater at Doon Valley proud and happy
With Abhinav Bindra winning the first-ever individual Olympics gold medal for India, his school in the Doon Valley erupted in joy. Abhinav is an alumnus of the Sylvan Riverdale School. As soon as the news reached, students and teachers, where he studied from lower kindergarten to Class V, joined in the celebrations. "We expect him to visit the school soon.

He had promised me two months ago that he would come here if he won gold at the Olympics," said Surjeet Ahluwalia, school director. Abhinav had visited Riverdale two years ago after winning gold in the World Shooting Championship.

"Abhinav's mother called me from Chandigarh. His parents made him so disciplined. Abhinav is close to Riverdale teachers and has always kept in touch with them," said Ahluwalia.

India's Goldfinger: Abhinav Bindra

Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra of India is hugged by his coach Gabriele Buhlmann after the finals.


The final shot from Abhinav Bindra's rifle may not have been heard outside the packed hall in the Beijing Shooting Range Complex on Monday morning. But its bang was loud enough to lift the spirit of a billion-plus Indians back home. ( Watch )

No individual gold has mattered so much to so many people in the history of Olympics. It was a medal for Abhinav; it was redemption for India. Never again will anyone be able to point a smug, sardonic finger and say: "No Indian is good enough to win an individual Olympic gold."

BCCI doles out Rs 25 lakh for Olympic champ Bindra

It is raining incentives for India's first-ever individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra with the BCCI announcing a Rs 25 lakh reward for the shooter for his feat in the ongoing Beijing Games.

"The BCCI will give Abhinav Rs 25 lakh. He was already on our team of athletes whom we were supporting," BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said.

Bindra created history in the Chinese capital by claiming the gold medal in 10m air rifle event on Monday to give India its first individual gold medal.

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.

Bindra claims India's first gold

Abhinav Bindra became India's first individual Olympic gold medallist when he claimed the men's 10m air rifle shooting title on Monday.

Athens Games champion Zhu Qinan of China won the silver and Henri Hakkinen of Finland took the bronze medal.

Bindra finished with 700.5 points, to edge out Zhu who had 699.7 points for the silver. Hakkinen got the bronze with 699.4.

Britain's Jonathan Hammond could only manage a lowly finish of 29th.

"It can't get better than this, can it?" said Bindra.

"I know India was waiting for this for a long time and so was I.

"I narrowly missed a medal at Athens so I knew I would be in with a chance if I focused on the job."

India, winners of eight field hockey gold medals, had never won an individual Olympic title before Bindra's feat.

The previous best was trap shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore's silver at Athens, while there were bronze medals for wrestler Khasaba Jadhav (1952), tennis star Leander Paes (1996) and woman weightlifter Karnam Malleswari (2000).

Indian Sports Minister Manohar Singh Gill said Bindra's performance would inspire the nation to more glory.

"This is going to give a huge incentive in going up further and becoming a dominant (sporting) power," he told Indian TV.

"We've won hockey golds in the past but the individual gold is going to give a huge fillip to all our sports. The boys and girls will run that much faster and jump that much longer."
News Courtesy: BBC

India's Abhinav Bindra won the First gold medal

India's Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle in Beijing on August 11 with an incredible performance in the final. Bindra shot a total score of 700.5.

China's Zhu Qinan, gold medalist at Athens 2004, won the silver medal with a total score of 699.7.

The bronze medal was won by Finland's Henri Hakkinen, who was leading the field after the qualification round, but was unable to hold off Bindra and Zhu in the final. The Finnish shooter shot a total of 699.4.

Hakkinen shot 598 in the qualification round, giving him a one point lead over Zhu. Bindra was one point further back with 596.

Bindra signals his intentions early in the final, with a 10.7 on his first shot. None of Bindra's shots in the final dropped below 10.0.

Hakkinen's performance in the final was solid, but it needed to be better. He averaged 10.14 per shot in the final, compared to Bindra's 10.45.

Going into the last shot, Bindra and Hakkinen were tied for first place, but Bindra secured the gold medal with his best shot of the final, an outstanding 10.8.

Conversely, Hakkinen's last shot was his worst, a lowly 9.7. This allowed Zhu to overcome Hakkinen and win the silver medal. Zhu shot 10.5 on his last shot.

Zhu will be disappointed that did not become the first shooter to win two gold medals in the Men's 10m Air Pistol. However, he was unable to reproduce his best – Zhu holds the Olympic record for the final score in the event, the 702.7 that he shot at Athens 2004.