Faridabad (Haryana), July 22 Former Indian shot putter Om Prakash Singh Karhana belieived that Indian Olympics history will be remembered through rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, who bring India's first individual gold medal in 2008.
Bindra made history by simultaneously being the world and Olympic champion for the men's 10- meter air rifle event. He achieved this remarkable feat by securing victories at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2006 ISSF World Championships.
A former Asian champion, who represented India at the London 2012 Olympics and retired in 2022, wants the Indian contingent to take inspiration from Abhinav Bindra.
"The history of the Indian Olympics will be remembered through Abhinav Bindra, he is my biggest Indian Olympics athlete and I want the Indian Paris contingent to take inspiration from his journey," said Kharana at the ‘Glory of Five Rings’ event on Monday.
"He is the biggest Olympic athlete to represent India in the Olympics. He brought home the first individual gold medal glory to the country," he said.
For the first time ever, India brought home three medals from the Olympics in 2008: Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Singh, and Sushil Kumar. This made it the country's most successful Olympics to that point, with 20 medals in all. Vijender Singh won India's first boxing medal at the Olympics, while Bindra's gold was the country's first-ever solo gold medal.
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26-August 11, with 117 athletes from India representing the country in the mega quadrennial event.
Some of the biggest names from the Indian contingent for the Paris Olympics include two-time medalist, badminton player PV Sindhu, who will be the country's flag-bearer in the opening ceremony alongside table tennis player Sharath Kamal.
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