Bindra placed 4th, misses on medal
Abhinav Bindra lost out on clinching a medal and was placed fourth in the final of 10m air rifle shooting event. Bindra in an agonizing finish, missed the medal place by mere 0.5 points, to Ukraine's Kulish who went on to win a silver. India is yet to win any medal thus far at Rio Olympics and Bindra was our best medal hope.
Who is Abhinav Bindra?
Abhinav Bindra is an Indian shooter from Punjab. He first competed for the nation at the Commonwealth games in 1998, at a young age of 15. Abhinav came to prominence when he won a bronze medal at the 2001 Munich Junior World Cup. He went on to win gold medals in the ensuing four editions of Commonwealth games - in 2002,2006, 2010, and 2014.
10m air rifle event
10m air rifle event, involves shooting from a 10-meter distance in a standing position with a 4.5 mm calibre air rifle with a weight not beyond 5.5 kgs. There are 20 shots in the final and each shot has a maximum 10.9 points.
Olympic Gold in Beijing
Abhinav Bindra's top achievement has been winning the historic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At Beijing, Bindra was placed first in the 10m air rifle event. His medal ended a 28 year gold medal drought for India at Olympics. His performance at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics though was dismal with him unable to qualify for the latter.
Awards and medals
Apart from Commonwealth and Olympic medals, Abhinav Bindra won a gold at 2006 World Championship in Zagreb, Silver medal at 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou, and gold medal at 2012 Asian Shooting Championship in Doha. He was presented with Arjuna award in 2000 and Rajiv Khel Ratna award in 2001. After the 2008 Olympics, he was honored with Padma Bhushan by the Indian Government.
Bindra's Rio qualification
Abhinav Bindra's Rio Olympic qualification came through when he finished 6th (122.4 score), at the 10m air rifle event of ISSF World Cup, Munich, in May 2015.
