Abhinav Bindra recalls how a dodgy wooden floor robbed him of a good performance in Athens Olympic Games final
Follow Us
Abhinav Bindra
Abhinav Bindra is one of the most iconic sportspersons India has ever produced. The shooter who made the country proud in 2008 by winning its first ever individual Olympic Games Gold medal is an inspirational figure not only in India but around the world as well. When Bindra clinched victory in the final of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the entire nation rejoiced in sheer joy and pandemonium.
Bindra was always an extremely dedicated sportsperson who had his eye on the prize. However, all did not go right for him in his previous attempt at winning the Olympic gold. At the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, he faltered in the final. He had been top-notch till then but on the biggest occasion of them all, he came up with extremely disappointing performances. Bindra has now recalled as to how he learned later this his below-par performance in the final was due to a dodgy wooden tile.
Dodgy wooden tile led to Abhinav Bindra’s disappointing showing in Athens final
Olympics released a video today on the story of Abhinav Bindra as a part of their original series titled ‘Legends Live On’ wherein the shooter recalled his journey and the hard work that he had to put in. The video had interviews with his mother, father as well as his coach. It was here that the interviewees recalled how Bindra had felt after the Athens loss and how it was later found to be due to a dodgy wooden tile.
“Athens was a huge disappointment for him,” his mother recalled. “He came back. He could not sleep because the man had worked so hard,” his father said. Bindra then took over saying, “I think it was two weeks after the Games had ended. It was the middle of the night in India and I hadn’t slept and that when my coach Gaby gave me a phone call.“
Coach Gabriele “Gaby” Bühlmann, also featured in the series, said, “I phoned him and said, “Abhinav, I found what was going on in the final.” Bindra then said, “In the final hall, on the floor that I was standing on. It was a wooden floor and the tile was a little bit loose, which made it impossible for a shooting athlete to find stability.” “You could not even imagine that this could happen at the Olympics. He was under shock,” Gaby said.
The series then proceeded to talk of how the experience in Athens changed Bindra as a person and how he got the ‘attention for detail’. He ensured that each and every minute detail was precise and perfect in future competitions and also with regard to his training. It was then that the culmination of it all – the Beijing triumph happened. It wasn’t easy there as well, as there was a mathematical arrangement that he had to make due to a problem with the sights on his rifle. But in the end, Bindra triumphed, etching his name in folklore.
Also Read: Indian shooting coach Monali Gorhe succumbs to black fungus at the age of 44
Stay Updated!
Nevin Clinton
(2399 Articles Published)