Abhinav Bindra walked away from the world of shooting after finishing fourth in the 10m air rifle final at the Rio Olympics.
Follow Us
Shooter Abhinav Bindra is one of the greatest Indian sportsmen of all time. Bindra aced shooting, a sport that requires extreme levels of concentration. Even deviation of the smallest fraction of a millisecond can prove costly. One may have seemed set to win a gold medal a few shots back, he could well walk back empty-handed at the end of the event. Bindra displayed his steadfast nature and supreme determination clinching the gold medal at the Bejing 2008 Olympics, despite the slight margins involved. He became the first individual gold medallist for the country, resulting in a wave of enthusiasm from all corners of the nation. The shooter further helped India win its first gold medal since 1980.
He shot an immaculate 700.5, having been tied with Finnish shooter Henri Hakkinen going into the final round. Bindra recorded a near-perfect 10.8 to clinch the gold while Hakkinen earned a bronze.
“The idea was to live it at the moment. I was not shooting one Olympic competition that day. I was shooting 60 competitions in qualification because our qualification has 60 shots. And I was shooting 10 competitions in the final because our final has 10 shots. I really tried to stay in the moment. It was really about complete detachment from the outcome and getting immersed in the performance,” said the shooter as quoted by Olympics.com.
Bindra however failed to replicate his heroics in the 2012 London Olympics, after being unable to make the final of the 10m Air Rifle event, finishing 16th in the qualification. While the fans were certainly disappointed after the ‘golden boy’ failed to showcase his prowess, there was some consolation from confidence over the shooter continuing to represent India in at least the next 3-4 editions of the premier event.
In such a scenario, Bindra dropped a shocker by announcing that the 2016 Rio Olympics would mark his final appearance. The shooter was going to make his fifth and final appearance in the premier event, having started off in the 2000 Sydney Olympics as the youngest Indian participant. The event in Brazil was going to mark the end of a glorious career. Another gold would certainly have marked the perfect way to bid farewell.
The 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was looked forward to with great enthusiasm by the Indian sporting eco-system. 117 athletes (63 men and 54 women) participated in the edition across 15 sports. This marked the nation’s largest-ever delegation sent to the Olympics, with spirits at an all-time high following the historic comeback of the women’s field hockey squad. The squad was going to make an appearance in the premier event after 36 years. India further recorded its Olympic debut in golf and women’s artistic gymnastics.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) had announced a squad of eleven Indian shooters for the Games. Some of the key members included Bindra, Gagan Narang and Jitu Rai. The 2008 gold medallist marked the nation’s only representative in the men’s 10-metre air rifle event. It comprised of two rounds: a qualifier and a final. The qualifier saw each shooter fire 40 shots with an air rifle at 10 metres’ distance from the standing position. The top 8 shooters from the qualifying round moved on to the final round, with Bindra one of them. The Indian shooter recorded scores of 104.3, 104.4, 105.9, 103.8, 102.1, 105.2 in his various shots, resulting in an overall total of 625.7.
The final round witnessed athletes shoot 6 shots in a 2×3 series before the lowest-ranked was eliminated every other shot. Bindra scored an impressive 10.7 in his eleventh shot to move into the second spot, raising hopes that the ace shooter could well record a medal. However, the momentum shifted over the next few shots with the Indian soon tied on 163.6 after 16 shots with Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish. The next shot would well determine the fortunes of both the shooters. Bindra had held his nerve in 2008 to win the gold and was backed to replicate his heroics yet again. However, the cruel nature of the game came back to haunt yet again as the shooter shot a 10.0, with his rival responding with a 10.5. It was all over at that stage, with the Indian finishing fourth in the 10m air rifle final following a pulsating shoot-off.
While it was certainly an emotional final, what very few knew was the fact that Bindra’s gun sighter had broken ahead of the qualification round, forcing him to use a spare choice for the event. The Indian managed to deliver a fine performance with a gun with which he had enjoyed limited practice.
“I did a good job, made the final and even hit some good shots in the final. Somebody had to be fourth, and it’s me. Maybe next time [Tokyo 2020] I’ll come as a journalist if anybody gives me a job,” said Bindra following the conclusion of the event.
The legendary sportsman has hailed the Indian shooting team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as a “tremendous mix”. Admiration from a man known to be quite careful with his praise will certainly be a source of motivation going into the prestigious event.
