Bindra books berth to Athens Olympics

India's ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has gained a ‘quota’ berth for the Athens Olympics 2004 when he secured the bronze medal in the...

India’s ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has gained a ‘quota’ berth for the Athens Olympics 2004 when he secured the bronze medal in the 10m rifle event of the ISSF World Cup at Munich. According to report received here today, the young shooter shot a brilliant score of 596.

After qualifying in final eight with his seventh positions placing, Bindra secured an incredible score of 103.9 in the final to rise to the third spot. Alan Parker from USA got the gold.

With this fine victory he has become the first Indian to secure a birth in an individual event for the Olympics 2004 in men’s category. India has already secured a birth in the women’s category through Anjali Bhagwat.

Bindra would be returning to India after a rigorous competition and training stint of eight months where he has represented the nation in World Cup Fort Benning (Georgia, USA), World Cup Zagrep (Crotia), World Cup Munich and European Circuit Championships in Germany. He will now be leaving for Seoul with the Indian shooting team on June 28.

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He is the youngest Arjuna Awardee and the youngest to be bestowed the highest sporting honor of Khel Rattan. Abhinav is already the youngest Indian to participate in Olympics, when he represented in Sydney Olympics 2000 and had taken a respectable 11th position.

With the passage of three years from last Olympics, Abhinav is now amongst the top professional shooters of the world.