Bindra not quitting, just taking it easy

September 23, 2014 08:04 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:47 pm IST - Incheon

Silver medalist Cao Yifei, left, of China, Gold medalist Yang Haoran, center, of China and Bronze medalist Abhinav Bindra, right, of India pose for photographers during the victory ceremony for the Men's 10m Air Rifle individual competition at the 17th Asian Games Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Silver medalist Cao Yifei, left, of China, Gold medalist Yang Haoran, center, of China and Bronze medalist Abhinav Bindra, right, of India pose for photographers during the victory ceremony for the Men's 10m Air Rifle individual competition at the 17th Asian Games Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Is Abhinav Bindra quitting? Will he carry us all at the Rio Olympics? Is this his last Asian Games? What do his tweets mean?

The questions kept jumping up, each rushing to pip the other, as Bindra appeared minutes after winning his maiden individual medal at the Asian Games, a bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle, at the Ongnyeon Shooting Range here on Tuesday.

The answers first… no, Bindra is not putting down his golden gun. He’s just going to take it easy.

Hobby shooter now

“For 20 years I’ve been a professional shooter, leading a life where I did nothing but shoot day in and day out. I’ve trained my heart out, but tomorrow onwards I’m a hobby shooter,” said Bindra, the country’s only individual Olympic gold medallist.

“I will train twice a week, that’s all, and then I will still go to the trials, the domestic trials, and see if I can make the team and I will only compete at the World Cups if I’m at a certain level.”

Bindra, who will be 32 on Sunday, has set the standard for the sport in the country and he made it clear that he would compete internationally only if he is close to that.

“I don’t want to go to World Cups shooting 620. If I’m able to shoot at the level I’m shooting at the moment, I will make an attempt, otherwise I will, perhaps, give my chance to the next person.”

So will he be good enough for the majors if he is going to take it up only as a hobby?

“I don’t know how I’ll do because I’ve never ever been a hobby shooter. I’ve always been a shooter who has given his all, his best. Let’s see, let’s wait and watch,” said the 2008 Olympic champion.

Mystery man

The man has been a mystery for many, interesting always but unpredictable at times, and it remained so when he said, “it’s not a sudden decision. I’ve thought over it.”

How long? “Seven or eight minutes.”

Just seven minutes? “What else should I think, what more should I be thinking about.”

So, will he have a lot of free time now, now that he is no longer a full-time shooter? “I will not have any free time,” said Bindra, who packed his bags and left Incheon this evening saying: “A challenging life awaits me.”

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