Olympics: Decoding India's medal haul in shooting
Sports fanatics all across the globe have their eyes on the calendar as the 2024 Paris Olympics will get underway on July 26. A total of 184 countries will participate in the tourney with 329 gold medals being at stakes. Meanwhile, India would want to enhance their medal tally in shooting. Here we decode the nation's Olympic medal haul in shooting.
Four medals in shooting
India have tallied a total of four Olympic medals in shooting, which includes one gold, one bronze, and a couple of silver. The gold was clinched by none other than the legendary Abhinav Bindra. He became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. Bindra had won gold in the 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Rathore opened the account for India
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was the first shooter to bring an Olympic medal to India. He clinched silver in the Men's double trap event in the 2004 Athens Games. Notably, he also became the first Indian to win an individual silver medal at Olympics post-independence. Rathore finished second to UAE's Ahmed Al Maktoum, who secured the gold medal.
When Bindra scripted history
In 2008, Bindra overcame Henri Hakkinen of Finland to secure the Olympic gold. Notably, ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is the only other Indian with an individual Olympic gold medal. Meanwhile, Gagan Narang secured bronze in the 2012 London Games. The shooter tasted success in the men's 10m air rifle event. It was also India's maiden medal at the London Olympics.
Vijay Kumar's success in 2012
Vijay Kumar was the other shooter to make India proud in the 2012 event. He went a step ahead of Narang and clinched the silver medal in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event. Kumar finished second to Cuba's Leuris Pupo.
