Bindra wins India``s first-ever individual Olympic gold

Abhinav Bindra won India``s first-ever individual Olympic gold in the men``s 10-metre Air Rifle event in Beijing today. He shot 104.5 to take his total to 700.5 in the final. In 10 rounds, Bindra shot 10.7, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.5, 10.5, 10.6, 10.0, 10.2, 10.8 to clinch the first berth. China``s Qinan Zhu won silver while Finland``s Henri Hakkinen won bronze. "I sincerely hope my medal changes the face of India``s Olympic sports," the 25-year-old Chandigarh shooter said after winning the gold at the Beijing Shooting Range. Bindra, whose career at one stage was jeopardised by a nagging back injury, said it was not easy to keep himself keyed up all along. "I worked hard, left home and trained in Germany. It only proves that if you keep working hard, you would have your day someday and fortunately, it was my day today. My parents, family and coaches stood by me all along and I owe it to them," he said. The Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awardee who is competing in his third successive Olympics, thrived on the relative anonymity and was happy to go about his job without too many expectations resting on his shoulders. If Bindra``s career track record is anything to go by, then he was always one of the best bets for an Olympic medal. 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. His Athens sojourn, however, was highly forgettable as faulty flooring in the finals deprived him of a slice of history at his second Olympic tryst. However, an unfazed Bindra moved on and within two years of the Athens heartbreak he ensured a third Olympic appearance by winning the gold medal at the Zagreb World Championships, becoming the first Indian to do so. But after the dream run, started a nightmare that threatened his career. A spine injury meant that even lifting a rifle was out of question and murmurs started as to whether the prodigious talent would ever be at his best. However, Bindra returned to the shooting range after almost one year of a grueling rehab. Fitter and more determined, Bindra made sure that his third attempt at Olympic glory went perfectly by the script.

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