Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men’s 10m air rifle.Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and even hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who dropped to bronze with a poor final shot of 9.7.
That allowed China’s Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to pass him on his final shot and win the silver medal.
"It’s just great," Bindra told Reuters just before climbing on to the podium.
Zhu had suffered a late lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier on Monday when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, dropping to second place behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.
Zhu was close to tears and told Reuters: "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated. But I tried my best."
Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax.
"I haven’t prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn’t have got better," he told Indian television.
Bindra won the 2006 world championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.
