Abhinav's next target is archery

CHANDIGARH: I always wanted to be an archer, he says. That sounds as amazing and intriguing as it should coming from India���s first ever Olympic individual gold medalist and reigning world champion in the 10 m air rifle event, Abhinav Bindra.
Then, the man with the golden gun picks up his brand new wooden bow and arrows (bamboo and aluminium respectively) and aims at the target placed in his home-based shooting range at Zirakpur.
There���s nothing to worry, as Abhinav is not suffering from the been-there-done-that syndrome regarding shooting. It���s just that he wants to return to his first love archery. On Sunday, two girl archers from the city, archery coach Vikas Shastri and Abhinav���s psychological trainer Amit Bhattacharya visited his home to give him a first-hand experience of the discipline. I always wanted to be an archer. Shooting was a second option for me, he says. I remember my parents looking for a coach in archery, however, we couldn���t find any. Meanwhile, we found a shooting coach and I started learning that and got hooked, he recalls.
However, this experience today is a dream come true. I saw archers compete at Beijing Olympics and loved the ambience at the stadium. It was simply electrifying, unlike shooting, which is a quiet sport, he says. He stands rapt in attention as arrows follow their trajectories towards the target. Then he asks the coach about finger tabs and arrow speed.
Abhinav���s a very good student with amazing grasping power and his body is very stable, says Shastri, But what���s truly inspiring is his respect and humility towards the teacher.
Bhattacharya says, Shooting and archery have a connect. Both the games are about mental strength and muscle power. I am trying to find if archery can help Abhinav in his game. As for Abhinav, he is happy romancing the bow and arrow. It?s not an easy game, says Abhinav as he walks up to the target to fetch the arrows. National level archer Tarika Sharma chips in, as she attempts to lift his rifle, So, is shooting. This is really heavy. I can���t even move it. Abhinav says, That it is. But be careful where you put the rifle. It���s heavy enough to break the bow. And I don���t want that to happen before I learn archery.
After an hour���s session, Abhinav spoke to the archers about shooting and gave them a chance to experience his game also. Later, the girls invited him to practice with them at Government College for Girls, Sector 11. He said, Archery is all that I am going to be doing now.