Olympic Gold for India!!! - 11-Aug-2008

It was a glorious day for india and indian sport. Abhinav Bindra won the first ever individual gold for India in the olympics. He won the 10m Air Rifle shooting competition.He was placed 2nd then, behind Henri Hakkinen (Finland). Guess he was placed 2nd even after the 9th shot. On the 10th he scored a brilliant 10.8. Hakkinen's nerves must have given way. He came up w a poor 9.7, which gave him the Bronze. China's Zhu Qinan won the Silver.

Cricket will still continue to rule the hearts back home but India's man with the golden gun Abhinav Bindra desperately hopes his Olympic gold will change the face of sports in the country.

Lesser mortals would perhaps have lost sanity but the 25-year-old Abhinav was poise and grace personified as he talked about his attaining Olympic immortality and its possible ramifications in a country that remains almost biased towards cricket.

Growing up in an affluent Chandigarh family, Abhinav had the advantage of a private shooting range at home, but the mild mannered shooter has always been down to earth and kept a low profile despite his success at various international events

A million emotions might have been rocking his mind but Abhinav Bindra chose to express them in the simplest of ways. A smile and a clenched fist were the only celebrations that marked the biggest day in the history of Indian sport.

I am really proud to be an Indian, to have heard that the Indian National Anthem was sung in the Olympic Stadium. Thanks to Abhinav Bindra....he has made all of us proud