Though, cricket rules the roost in India, other sports have been doing great of late, particularly shooting, an Olympic sport. In the ongoing ISSF Shooting World Cup in Munich, Abhinav Bindra managed to secure a quota place for India for the Rio 2016 Olympics, which starts on 5 August next year.
Though, the Indian was not at his menacing best, he managed to seize a position for his country with a score of 627.5, with the score in the final reading 122.4 in the Men's 10m Air Rifle. It was China's Zhu Qinan, who won the gold medal with Vladimir Maslennikov of Russia taking the silver in the final of the competition.
Despite finishing sixth, Bindra was able to grab the spot as four out of the eight finalists had previously secured a berth for the country. Bindra had a greater chance of qualification and he did not disappoint in that regard with the former gold medallist fighting against lesser opponents for the elusive quota.
Though, he managed to secure a qualification position, Bindra is aware that such a performance in the Olympics will not be enough to repeat his heroic deeds of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where he won the prestigious gold medal for India.
The Indian will be looking forward to winning his second Olympic gold and fans can expect one of India's best shooters to turn up big in Rio.
Raninder Singh, President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), felt it was just a matter of time for Bindra to get an Olympic berth for his country.
"I never had any doubts about Abhinav securing a quota place for us sooner or later. He is not an Olympic champion for nothing. He is very clear about his goals and his preparations leading up to big events, is something every professional sportsman in this country should emulate. We have our fingers crossed for him for the Olympics," Times of Indian quoted Singh as saying.
But, Bindra is not the only medal hope from India, as several other top shooters such as Gagan Narang, Jitu Rai and Apurvi Chandela have already sealed an Olympic berth.
Out of these superstars, there are a lot of expectations from Jitu Rai to grab a medal, as he has been winning a number of honours in the international arena for India.
