FOR A YEAR, HE COULDN’T LIFT A RIFLE

Aritra Mukhopadhyay TNN

Source: Times of India

Chandigarh:Even as a kid, Abhinav Bindra’s buddies say, he was different. The boy was reticent, but not unfriendly. No one could quite put a finger on him. He seemed to have a secret core that nobody could reach out to. And as the bespectacled boy (with minus 4 power in both eyes) took to the shooting range, there was a steely determination that even his closest friends could not fathom.
This last attribute was perhaps what pulled Abhinav back from the brink. Since 2006, he was down and out for months with a career-threatening spinal injury caused due to ligament overstretching in the lumbodorsal region.
All those months, Abhinav could barely pick up his 5kg rifle, let alone shoot with it. ‘‘Less than perfect shooting technique, lack of trained doctors and micronutrient deficiency can result in some of the common shooting sports injuries,’’ says Dr Amit Bhattacharjee, who accompanied Bindra to Zagreb and Beijing.
So bad was the injury that many were writing him off after he dropped out of the Doha Asian Games in December 2006. But Abhinav wasn’t one to give up. He was diligent in his physiotherapy. He took up a thorough rehabilitation programme that helped reduce the strain on his spine and made some technical changes for a better posture.
So, while the world had lost its focus on Abhinav, the shooter himself was completely focused on his recovery. And training. First at his private air-conditioned shooting range, and then, in Germany under coach Gaby. The champion was quietly waiting for his moment — with patience and determination.

On Monday, that moment arrived.