At the 142nd Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Paris, India’s legendary shooter Abhinav Bindra was awarded the prestigious Olympic Order. This award is the highest honour given by the IOC and recognises individuals who have made notable contributions to the Olympic Movement.
Reacting to the honour, Bindra said, “This recognition is not only a personal milestone but also a testament to the spirit of perseverance and dedication that sport instills in all of us. I am deeply honoured by the IOC’s recognition and dedicate this award to all athletes and sports enthusiasts who strive to uphold the Olympic ideals.”
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Bindra’s remarkable journey to this award is marked by numerous achievements on and off the field. India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, Bindra won gold in the men’s 10m air rifle shooting event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His groundbreaking success continued when he became the first Indian to win gold at the World Air Rifle Championships. Over the course of his two-decade career, Bindra amassed over 150 individual medals, cementing his status as one of India’s most celebrated sports personalities.
His outstanding achievements in the sport were recognised globally when he received the Blue Cross, the federation’s highest award, from the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) in 2018. Bindra has also been instrumental in sports administration: he served as Chairman of the ISSF Athletes’ Committee for eight years and is currently a member of the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission and Education Commission. These roles have enabled him to shape global sports policy and advocate for athletes around the world.
After his retirement, Bindra founded the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust (ABFT), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering grassroots athletes in India using cutting-edge sports science technology. The foundation focuses on high performance training, education and social empowerment with the aim of introducing international best practices into India’s sports ecosystem.
Among the notable initiatives of the ABFT is the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP), launched in collaboration with the IOC’s Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage (OFCH) and the state governments in Odisha and Assam. OVEP, which began in Odisha in 2022 and expanded to Assam in 2023, aims to instill the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect in over 11,000 schools and reach more than 1 million students. The programme will be further expanded and aims to reach 13 million schoolchildren by 2025.
Bindra’s commitment to environmental sustainability is also evident in the Odisha Ridley Forest Project, which aims to protect the habitat of the endangered Olive Ridley turtle along the coast of Odisha.
This prestigious award not only underlines Bindra’s exceptional legacy in sport, but also highlights his ongoing efforts to promote the values of Olympism and have a positive impact on future generations.
(Includes agency input)
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