Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra, born September 28 1982, is an Indian shooter from Zirakpur, Mohali, Punjab and is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. By winning the gold in the 10m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games and India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold. Abhinav comes from an affulent Sikh family and they were able to have an indoor shooting range installed in their home. He was also the youngest Indian participant in the 2000 Olympic Games. He won a gold in the 10m Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and won another gold in the pair event at the 2006 Commonwealth games. By winning the first individual gold medal in the Olympics, and the first in 28 years, Bindra received many awards. In 2000 he was awarded the Arjuna Award, which recognises outstanding achievement in National Sports and in 2001 he recieved the Khel Ratna which is India's highest sports award.