Pride of India…

Abhinav Singh Bindra, (born September 28, 1982) is an Indian shooter from Zirakpur, Mohali, Punjab and is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and India’s first gold medal since 1980, when the Men’s Field Hockey Team won the gold. Abhinav Bindra comes from an affluent Sikh family. His parents, Dr. Apjit and Babli Bindra, are promoters of the Hitech Group of companies. Bindra is a fifth generation descendant of legendary Sikh warrior Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa on his mother’s side. Bindra has one sister – Divya, a fashion designer, married into the family that owns Atlas Cycles(Haryana). Bindra studied at the Doon school, Dehradun and later at St. Stephens School, Chandigarh. He earned his BBA from the University of Colorado.

International performance

· Bindra won six medals at various international meets in 2001. In the 10 m Air rifle event at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event.

· At the 2004 Olympic Games, he scored 597 in the qualification round and was placed third behind Qinan Zhu (599 – Olympic Record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals, Abhinav finished with 97.6 points, last in the field of eight and was the only player below 100 points. His sub-par finals dropped him from third to seventh.

· At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, he won the Gold in the Pairs event and the Bronze in the Singles event. Abhinav missed the 2006 Asian Games at Doha because of a back injury.

Awards and recognitions

• 2000 – Arjuna award.
• 2001 – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (India’s highest sports award).

Awards for Olympics Gold medal

• Rs. 1 crore cash prize by State Government of Punjab.
• Rs. 2 lakh cash prize by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
• Rs. 25 lakh cash prize by the Board of Control for Cricket in India
• Rs. 15 lakh cash prize by Steel Ministry of India
• A free lifetime railway pass by the Railway Ministry of India
• Rs. 10 lakh cash prize by Chief Minister of Maharashtra state
• Rs. 5 lakh cash prize by State Government of Orissa
• Rs. 1.5 Crore by L N Mittal, Arcelor Mittal.
• Rs. 10 lakh cash prize by the State Government of Karnataka
• Rs. 11 lakh cash prize by the State Government of Bihar. The Patna Indoor Stadium will be renamed after Abhinav Bindra.
• Rs. 1 lakh cash prize by the State Government of Chhattisgarh
• Rs. 25 lakh cash prize by the State Government of Haryana.
• Rs. 5 lakh cash prize by M. Karunanidhi, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu
• A Gold medal by the State Government of Kerala.

:::: Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinav_Bindra ::::