 A billion dreams come true
By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-12 08:48 In a spectacular finish yesterday, Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra got one over critics who say he failed to deliver on his early promise. A privileged child with an indoor shooting range in his backyard, the 24-year-old yesterday delivered India's first individual gold medal in Olympic history and dethroned champion Zhu Qinan in the men's 10m air rifle at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall. Bindra took up the sport at age 15. He was the youngest shooter at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the youngest person ever to represent India at an Olympic Games. He failed to win a medal in Athens despite breaking the Olympic record. Born into a wealthy family, he has spectacular training facilities including an air-conditioned range in his backyard with an international standard target transportation system. He trained in Germany before coming to Beijing. Bindra, the 2006 world champion, entered the final in fourth place with 596 points behind Henri Hakkinen of Finland (598), Zhu (597) and Alin George Moldoveanu of Romania (596). His first three shots put him on second place with scores of 10.7, 10.3 and 10.4 and in a position to chase down Hakkinen. He tied the leader on the second to last shot and, when Hakkinen faltered on his last attempt with a 9.7, Bindra took full advantage shooting a brilliant 10.8. "I was lucky today. Today is my day," said Bindra. The poor last shot cost Hakkinen more than the gold as China's Zhu overcame a 0.5 differential with a 10.5 shot to leave the Finnish in third place. Bindra's medal is India's second gold since 1980, when it took the men's hockey event. Bindra became an instant national hero, surrounded by about 50 Indian journalists. "I had no idea I was making history during the competition. I was trying to concentrate on my shooting as I was two points (behind) Hakkinen after the qualification," he said. Indian sports minister Manohar Singh Gill, who was watching the competition, said this could be a turning point for India. "We're making a start with the first gold. It will encourage every Indian boy to take up some sports, like gymnastics, soccer and athletics. I hope we can come back to future Olympics with many medals." India has performed well in shooting in recent years. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the country's first individual Olympic silver medal in men's double trap at the 2004 Athens Games. China's Zhu, who failed to defend his Olympic title, broke into tears after winning the silver in spectacular fashion but failing to deliver a gold. "I don't know what's going on. My mind went blank. I just couldn't get focused during the final as I did in the qualification," said the Olympic record holder. "There was no problem with my technique. I just didn't catch the opportunity. "I was very tired. The qualification used up a lot of my energy and there was a short time between the qualification and the final, so I had no time to rest." Zhu was tipped as the strongest title contender and was under great pressure before the Games. "For a long time, I got very depressed with anxious and complex feelings," he said. Women's trap In women's trap, Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland took the title with 91 targets in a nail-biting victory over Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia (89) and Corey Cogdell of the USA (86). Codgell won a dramatic four-way shoot-off for the bronze after all three of her rivals missed the target but she chipped a piece off the corner. (China Daily 08/12/2008 page6) |
