In a quest to inspire India to run, Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) on Thursday announced India's only individual Olympic gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra, as the event ambassador for the 16th edition, scheduled to take place on November 29 in New Delhi.
Bindra, who has been conferred with the Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Padma Bhushan made history when he won the gold in the 10 m air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He is excited to be associated with the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020, which over the years has championed the running movement and created a paradigm shift in the health and fitness quotient of the capital.
"Today, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has motivated individuals, young and old, to adopt a healthy lifestyle, run for a cause and empower women to put their best foot forward. The spirit of the event energizes runners; instills faith. It has become a source of inspiration to conquer limitations and push limits. In spite of the challenges this year, the amateurs have the opportunity to participate from different parts of India but finish together in spirit through the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Mobile App," Bindra said in a statement.
He further added, "To salute the spirit of each participant, you have a chance to cherish the personalised limited edition Unity Medal, inspired by the Ashoka Chakra."
Apart from the Olympic medal, the former shooter, who was the youngest participant in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, bagged seven Commonwealth Games medals, three Asian Games medals and one World Championships medal during the course of his career.
After an illustrious career, Bindra retired from shooting post the Rio Olympics in 2016. However, the 38-year-old is not done with sports just yet. Through the Abhinav Bindra Foundation, the now-entrepreneur looks to bring Global Best Practice to the Indian Sporting Landscape, and also encourages physical excellence with data-driven physiotherapy through ABTP.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor