Published on 11 Aug 2008
10m Air Rifle Men Final: BINDRA made history. Silver and tears to ZHU
Marco Dalla Dea
Abhinav BINDRA of India, 26, won the first Indian individual Olympic Gold medal ever, writing his name in the history of his country. The title defender, the Chinese shooter ZHU Qinan finished in second place, deluding the expectations of his fans. The home athlete did not hide his tears at the press conference.
Abhinav BINDRA, a 26-year old rifle shooter, entered his name in the Indian’s hall of fame. By winning the 10m Air Rifle Men event he became the first individual Olympic Gold medallist ever of his country. “This medal is probably not going to change my life - said BINDRA right after the match - … but I hope that it can change the attention to the shooting sports in India. I hope that my medal will help sport and Indian sportsmen.”.
This victory did not come unexpected. BINDRA was the current world champion, and entered the final match in fourth place with an excellent qualification score of 596 hits “I don’t think that was a good score – commented BINDRA – but I shot a good final, and that lifted me up on the podium”.
During the final round, the Indian shooter faced and defeated the Finnish finalist Henri HAKKINEN and the title defender ZHU. His final score, 104.5 points, turned out to be the highest, even more then what shot by ZHU at the 2004 Olympics. “I have been working hard on my shooting – said the Indian shooter – it has not been easy to come back to shooting after the Games of Athens. I started focusing on Beijing a few months after the 2004 Games, and this is the reward of hard work”
ZHU Qinan, the title defender, closed the round on the second step of the podium, winning Silver with a score of 699.7 points (597+102.7), a result far from the Olympic Record of 702.7 points he had scored in Athens four years ago. ZHU was considered the absolute favourite, since he had not missed any competition in the last three years. Probably the pressure of the home court tricked him, but the Chinese shooter did not comment about it. During the press conference, surrounded by journalist and cameramen, he could not retain tears, and started crying for desperation. Sobbing, he explained “I have been dreaming about winning Gold in front of my people here in Beijing since the day after my victory in Athens. I have never ever wanted something more than this. I put all my efforts to win the Gold, but I failed. I am sorry, I am sorry for the Chinese people, for my country.”
Bronze went to Henry HAKKINEN of Finland, a 28-year old army officer who surprised everybody by entering the final round in first place, finishing than on the third step of the podium with 698.9 points (598+101.4). HAKKINEN had never won a world-level medal before, except for a Silver gained at the last Europeans. “I am a little bit mad because I started in first place. And then I dropped down in third… but the others were strong! I did not expect this medal. I hoped to finish into the final, but the podium was only in my secret dreams!”
This victory did not come unexpected. BINDRA was the current world champion, and entered the final match in fourth place with an excellent qualification score of 596 hits “I don’t think that was a good score – commented BINDRA – but I shot a good final, and that lifted me up on the podium”.
During the final round, the Indian shooter faced and defeated the Finnish finalist Henri HAKKINEN and the title defender ZHU. His final score, 104.5 points, turned out to be the highest, even more then what shot by ZHU at the 2004 Olympics. “I have been working hard on my shooting – said the Indian shooter – it has not been easy to come back to shooting after the Games of Athens. I started focusing on Beijing a few months after the 2004 Games, and this is the reward of hard work”
ZHU Qinan, the title defender, closed the round on the second step of the podium, winning Silver with a score of 699.7 points (597+102.7), a result far from the Olympic Record of 702.7 points he had scored in Athens four years ago. ZHU was considered the absolute favourite, since he had not missed any competition in the last three years. Probably the pressure of the home court tricked him, but the Chinese shooter did not comment about it. During the press conference, surrounded by journalist and cameramen, he could not retain tears, and started crying for desperation. Sobbing, he explained “I have been dreaming about winning Gold in front of my people here in Beijing since the day after my victory in Athens. I have never ever wanted something more than this. I put all my efforts to win the Gold, but I failed. I am sorry, I am sorry for the Chinese people, for my country.”
Bronze went to Henry HAKKINEN of Finland, a 28-year old army officer who surprised everybody by entering the final round in first place, finishing than on the third step of the podium with 698.9 points (598+101.4). HAKKINEN had never won a world-level medal before, except for a Silver gained at the last Europeans. “I am a little bit mad because I started in first place. And then I dropped down in third… but the others were strong! I did not expect this medal. I hoped to finish into the final, but the podium was only in my secret dreams!”