GOLD N GLORY

The millimetre matters.Be it a 6mm wide shooting disc or .55mm wide bull's eye or the ever elusive 6mm thick Olympics medal, he knows it all.He is only 24, world champion in 10m air rifle and Beijing is his third Olympics.Far away from the heart of the games , out in an open country where its safe to fire at things,he stands on the podium kissing an eloquent piece of gold.The entire nation has erupted with joy.Who is he?"Hands on head, I can say that shooting is an extreme sport-you can't miss single shot in 70"says Abhinav Bindra after he became the first Indian to win an individual's gold in Olympics. Born on September 28,1982 in Dehradun,Bindra is quite often criticised for not delivering on the promise he showed as a child prodigy.Bindra studied at Doon School ,Dehradun and later at St.Stephens,Chandigarh.He earned his BBA degree from the University of Colorado.His parents Dr.Apjit and Babli Bindra are promoters of 'Hitech Group Of Companies' ,a group that has a annual turnover of more than USD 75million.Coming from an affluent family and with the luxury of a shooting range in his backyard,Bindra proved to be an early bird and at 15 he was the youngest participant at 1998's commonwealth games.Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by Lt.Col.J.S. Dhillon.After that Bindra has never looked back.His sporting career has been anything less than illustrious. He made a junior world record score of 597/600 in 2001 Munich World Cup and won Bronze and followed it up with a gold in 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games .He was conferred with Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2001. In the 2004 Athens Olympics ,despite breaking the Olympic record ,Bindra failed to get a medal.Perhaps the most defining moment of his sporting career was a gold in World Shooting Championships at Zagreb in 2006. For Bindra's parents, his fashion designer sister,and his current coach,Gabriela Buhlmann from Basel,Switzerland,it has been a life on a cloud nine after that majestic Monday.And for another 1 billion fans back home,its been a moment to savour.For Bindra,his world has to fall back to normal, sooner rather than later. 'Some things do not and should not change'sums it all.