NEW DELHI: Eighteen years after scripting history at the Beijing Olympics, Indian shooting legend Abhinav Bindra looked back on the moment that changed Indian sport forever, describing his individual gold medal as the “biggest peak of my sporting life”.On August 11, 2008, Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal when he triumphed in the men’s 10m air rifle event with a score of 700.5.Marking the 18th anniversary of his historic achievement, Bindra reflected on the significance of that day in a post on X.“18 years ago today, I reached the biggest peak of my sporting life. Life since has taught me that the spaces between the peaks matter just as much,” Bindra wrote.

A historic gold that changed Indian sport

Bindra’s triumph ended India’s long wait for an individual Olympic gold and established him as one of the country’s greatest sporting icons. His feat was matched only when javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won India’s second individual Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021.Bindra went on to compete at two more Olympics, finishing 16th at London 2012 and fourth at Rio 2016. But the Beijing triumph remained the defining moment of his career.The shooter also enjoyed an illustrious record beyond the Olympics. He won seven Commonwealth Games medals, including four golds, and three Asian Games medals, including a silver. He was also crowned world champion in the 10m air rifle in 2006.Across a career spanning more than two decades, Bindra won over 150 individual medals.His contribution to shooting was also recognised internationally when he received the ISSF’s Blue Cross in 2018, the organisation’s highest honour.Since retiring, Bindra has continued to contribute to Indian sport through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust, which works with grassroots athletes and focuses on high-performance training, sports science and education.He also served as vice-chair of the IOC Athletes Commission before completing his tenure earlier this year. During his time with the IOC, Bindra became the first Indian to receive the Olympic Order for his contribution to the Olympic movement.