Abhinav Bindra motivated for more success

Noida - Venturing into the pizza business has not distracted Abhinav Bindra from achieving more in the world of shooting. India’s only gold medallist at the Olympics plans to use 2013 as preparation for the major events lined up next year.

“Shooting has never been a career option for me. It has been my passion, my life” — that was Bindra’s reaction Wednesday when asked whether his pizza business, launched in October last year, was affecting his game.

The 30-year-old rifle shooter has not competed much since the London Olympics where he failed to make the 10 m air rifle final, four years after making history in the Beijing Games.

Bindra had to settle for a silver in the Nationals in December and now has his sight set on this month’s selection trials for the World Cup.

“It is an important year for me. There are some rule changes that have taken place and I will use this year to get used to them. I see myself competing in around 7-10 tournaments and it should help me reach top form in 2014,” Bindra told IANS at the Genesis Global School here, referring to the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games next year.

The most significant of the rule changes will see participants not carrying any points of the qualification stage into the final, leaving them with very little scope of a slip-up.

Despite unparalleled accomplishments, quitting the sport has not crossed Bindra’s mind. “The day I feel satisfied, I will quit. I think there is still so much more to achieve. I love shooting and I have not set any specific goals. I want to do well in every competition,” he said.

He also sees shooting’s profile growing.

“When I competed in nationals, there used to around 300 entries. In December, around 3,000 to 4,000 people participated. Besides that, a lot of schools and colleges have added shooting facility.”