Abhinav Bindra

Career Early years

Bindra was born in Dehradun in Uttarakhand, to a Punjabi Sikh Khatri family. He was educated at the Doon School in Dehradun and at St. Stephen's School in Chandigarh. He studied business administration at the University of Colorado Boulder. where he was coached by Gaby Buhlmann.

In international competitions, he won his first medal, a bronze, at the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600. He won six gold medals at various international meets that year and received the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, India's highest sports award. In the air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he finished with gold in the pairs event and silver in the individual event.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he broke the previous Olympic record but did not win a medal. He scored 597 in the qualification round and placed third, preceded by Qinan Zhu (599, a new Olympic record) and Li Jie (598). In the finals, Abhinav finished with 97.6 points, last in the field of eight; he was the only player with less than 100 points and dropped to the seventh position.

After these successes, a severe back injury incapacitated him and he was unable to lift a rifle for a year, interrupting his preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bindra returned to compete and won the title at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships with a score of 699.1, qualifying him for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Bindra won the men's 10-metre air rifle event, shooting a total of 700.5. He scored 596 in the qualifying round, finishing fourth, and outscored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5. In the finals, he started with a shot of 10.7, and all others never dipped below 10.0. Bindra was tied with Henri Häkkinen heading into his final shot. Bindra scored his highest of the finals – 10.8 – while Hakkinen shot 9.7 to settle for the bronze medal.

Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10-metre air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships, held in Doha, Qatar. He lost in the qualification round at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finishing in the 16th place with a score of 594. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Bindra again won gold in the men's 10-metre air rifle singles event. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he came fourth in the men's 10-metre air rifle singles event after losing a shoot-off for the top 3 to Serhiy Kulish, who eventually won the silver medal.

Business career Bindra has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Colorado. Bindra is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics Private Limited, an organisation that works to bring science and technology into the sport and healthcare sectors. With ABTP, a group of sports science and advanced physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) centres, the organisation has served more than 5,000 athletes and medical patients. Under the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, a non-profit initiative, athletes are provided access to the latest sports technology and high-performance physical training for free.

Since his retirement, Bindra has been involved with the TOP Scheme, one of India's most significant policies for athlete development. He was a member of the ISSF Athlete Committee from 2010 to 2020, serving as Chair from 2014, and was appointed to the IOC Athlete Commission in 2018. In these roles he has worked for the development of athletes through mental health, financial stability, and entrepreneurship initiatives. In 2017 whilst Chair of the ISSF Athletes Committee, Bindra was criticised for approving the removal of three events from the Olympic programme in what was described as an undemocratic and un-transparent manner. Bindra's net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.

Summer Olympics Year Event Rank Notes 2000 Sydney 10 m air rifle 11 590 2004 Athens 10 m air rifle 7 694.6 2008 Beijing 10 m air rifle 700.5 2012 London 10 m air rifle 16 594 2016 Rio de Janeiro 10 m air rifle 4 625.7/163.8

Personal life Harper Sport published Bindra's autobiography, A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold, which he co-authored with sportswriter Rohit Brijnath in October 2011. It was formally released by Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken on 27 October 2011, at a function in New Delhi. The book received positive reviews, and Harshvardhan Kapoor has been cast for the lead role in a future biopic based on the memoir.

Bindra belongs to a Sikh family and a descendant of legendary warrior Hari Singh Nalwa, who was commander-in-chief of the Sikh army during Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign.

Awards and accolades 2000 – Arjuna award 2002 – Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (India's highest sports award) 2009 – Padma Bhushan 2011 – Made an honorary lieutenant colonel by the Indian Territorial Army 2018 – Blue Cross, highest shooting honour by International Shooting Sport Federation 2024 – Olympic Order, highest honour by the International Olympic Committee Awards for 2008 Olympic gold medal by Mittal Champions Trust cash prize from the Indian Central Government cash prize by the state government of Haryana cash prize by the Board of Control for Cricket in India cash prize by the Steel Ministry of India cash prize by the state government of Bihar. The Patna Indoor Stadium will be renamed after Bindra. cash prize by S. Amolak Singh Gakhal, chairman, Gold's Gym cash prize by the chief minister of Maharashtra state cash prize by the state government of Orissa cash prize by government of Tamil Nadu cash prize by the state government of Chhattisgarh A gold medal by the state government of Kerala