Bindra’s Beijing gold puts sports on a pedestal!

Abhinav Bindra was crowned the golden boy of 2008 as he showed the world and India that we were not sitting ducks in Olympic sports. With the gold medal he made the people of India realize that cricket wasn’t the end of the world and there were many more dreams to be realized. In an interview with NEIL JOSHI, he narrated the journey to his gold, the need of the hour and tackling female attention he received.

Q. It has been almost six months since you have won the gold in Beijing. You were tied with Henri Hakkinen before the final shot. Can you relive the moment of glory.
A: It was the greatest moment of my life. It was something that I aspired all my life; it just was my dream to win the gold. My dream couldn’t have been fulfilled in a better fashion. The competition was absolutely tough and it took a lifetime of preparation and it came down to a single shot. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Q. The gold and the bronze were just an injection needed to boost Olympic sports in the country. What difference have you witnessed in the past six months?
A: The biggest positive change is the change of outlook and attitude and I had the chance to interact with a lot of athletes. Earlier, it used to seem as a distant dream, but now it is a reality. Now everyone is talking about winning gold and other medals. So everybody is aspiring and aiming high like never before.

Q. You won India’s first gold medal ending the drought of 28 years. Were you expecting such a warm reception on your arrival and has that moment sunk in yet for you?
A: The moment of winning the gold has sunk in by now. The whole country was waiting for this. It has taken a very very long time. I was overwhelmed by the reaction and the goodwill generated by my victory and I am grateful to everyone.

Q. How do you see India capitalise on the medals won at Beijing. And what measures do you suggest for India to be a sports playing nation rather than a sports loving nation?
A: There needs to be a change of attitude towards sports and we should start investing in sports. Sports can be a very powerful platform to build our global reputation as a country. It’s very important that our country pays attention to Olympic sports in particular and if that happens, more and more people at the grassroots will get opportunities to succeed. We will then have more athletes performing at the higher level.

Q. What was the phase for you between 2004 and 2008?
A: The 2004 Olympics was a little disappointing for me, I went in to the final shot and finished seventh. My planning for Beijing 2008 grew out from the disappointment that very evening. I planned for every eventuality. It took a lifetime of preparations… I went all out. My training stopped at nothing in terms of effort, organization. I even planned for a malfunction which actually did happen to me.

Q. Do you think that you were pampered a lot during your growing up days?
A: I don’t think I was a pampered child. But I did get what I wanted. My parents were very supportive and always wanted me to have good values and a direction in life.

Q. What was your first experience with a gun and when did you take a decision of entering this profession full time?
A: I started when I was 12. I was very addicted towards the gun then. I played club competition and then I kept training and I started winning and my goals started becoming bigger and then I started dreaming bigger. It was 1998-99 when I believed that I could go to the Olympics. When I was 17, I went to the 2000 Games in Sydney. I had been to big competitions before – I had been to the Commonwealth Games when I was 15. In the Commonwealth Games there were just a few countries as compared to the whole world in the Sydney Games and in Sydney I realized how big the world really is. As a competitor I believed that I want to take on the world and wanted to beat everybody and I wanted to be the best.

Q. Who gave you your first gun?
A: My father got it for me. My aunt living in America organised to get my first gun. I was 15 when I got it.

Q. How did you cope with so much female attention and those marriage proposals that came along after the Beijing Games?
A: I didn’t receive as much female attention. I haven’t got any marriage proposals, its just media created. I am a very private person and suddenly became very popular. I suddenly had to deal with it because I became a public person. It’s been a challenge and something I had to deal with. I don’t know whether I like it but I couldn’t really do anything about it.

Q. When was the first time after the Beijing Olympics you picked up the gun?
A: I started training maybe two weeks after the Olympics. It brings me peace and mental sanity. However, I have not chalked out my immediate goals so far.

Q: You are planning a shooting range for aspiring shooters. How is the project shaping up and what assistance have you received from the Indian Olympic Association or the Sports Ministry?
A: I haven’t got any support for the project from the IOA or the Sports Ministry. It is my personal initiative that I have taken. It is something that I would like to give back to sports – not just to shooting but sports in general. It has hit a few roadblocks considering the meltdown in economy has delayed things. It is something that I am passionate about and I hope it comes through as soon as possible.

Q. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police approached you to provide coaching to their men in view of the Delhi Games. Can you throw some light on that development?
A: I am not very clear as to what they wanted me to do. I was there with them at a tournament in November but I haven’t actually got any official communication from them. I will be happy and willing to assist.

Q. There is the Australia Cup along with the World Cup in Munich, Milan and Minsk. How is your preparation going on for that?
A: I have just started to train. I don’t have goals yet and I am not pushing it. I would like to follow my guts and instinct and just follow that path because that’s me. We have the World Cup this year. There is no Olympic qualification this year. It will only begin in 2010, so competitions are there this year but not of much significance for me personally.