Abhinav Bindra’s journey to become the first and only Indian to win an individual Olympic Gold, and the first Indian to win a World Championship Gold in Air Rifle shooting is an example of a single- minded quest for perfection. His victory at Beijing was not just a personal one; it broke a sporting barrier that had haunted the nation for a Century.

Born in Dehradun, he has won over a 150 individual medals in a career that lasted over twenty years. His last Olympics were in Rio in 2016 where he finished 4th.

Recipient of the Arjuna Award and the youngest recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Mr. Bindra was also conferred with India’s 3rd highest civilian award, The Padma Bhushan, in 2009. He was also conferred with the title of (Hony.) Lt. Col. in the Territorial Army. For his exceptional services to the Sport, he was awarded with the Blue Cross in 2018 by the International Shooting Sport Federation, which is the ISSF’s highest honour.

Post his retirement from active sport, he founded the ABTP facilities for Physical Excellence under Abhinav Futuristics Pvt. Ltd., which use Sports Science and Technology to help an Athlete with Data Driven Training, through which verticals of Performance Enhancement, Strength & Conditioning, Recovery Protocols, and Injury Management/Prevention are Explored. This Technology is also being used in the Healthcare Sector, where Medical Patients suffering from Orthopaedic and Neuromuscular conditions are given Physical Rehabilitation. The Technology allows Scientific Analysis of the root cause of a Condition rather than the symptom, which gives the Centre’s Expert Physiotherapists information to create customised treatment programmes. Over 5000 Athletes and Medical Patients have benefited from the 6 Centres across the country (Pune, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mohali, Bangalore, and Bhubaneswar).

Through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, Indian Grassroots Athletes are granted Scholarships to Train at the Centre and Grow under the Technology. The STEAM Scholarship Programme currently trains over 50 Athletes with each of them getting Sport Specific Physical Training, and Performance Enhancement Protocols. The Foundation has also partnered with Niccolo Campriani, a Three Time Olympic Champion, to help 3 Refugees to take up Sport shooting Competitively! Having begun training in March, 2019, the objective is to help them qualify for the Refugee Contingent at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!

Mr. Bindra chaired the ISSF Athletes Committee for 8 years and is currently a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athlete Commission. In this position, he has spent considerable time and effort promoting Athlete Mental Health, and contributing to policy that helps create a robust Addressal System through the Global Olympic Frameworks.