Abhinav says his swan song is satisfying but relief is not the emotion for him right now
Even on the last day of his rich 20-year career as a professional shooter, Abhinav Bindra was matter-of-fact. He spoke to some journalists before the medal ceremony. Excerpts:
It’s your first Asian Games medal. Feeling relievedIJ
There is no question of relief. I did well. I won a medal. Relief is not the emotion at the moment. I am just happy.
Your tweet yesterday caused lot of confusion…
The tweet was very easy to understand. I don’t know what the confusion is. For 20 years I have been a professional shooter, lived a life where I did nothing but shoot day in and day out, trained my heart out. Tomorrow onwards, I will be a hobby shooter, I will train twice a week. That’s it. I will still go to the domestic trials and see if I can make the team. I will compete at the World Cup only if I am at a certain level. I don’t want to go to the world cup shooting 620. If I am able to shoot at the level I am shooting at the moment, I will make an attempt. Otherwise, I would give a fair chance to the next person. I don’t know how I well I will do because I have never been a hobby shooter before. I have always been a shooter who has given his best.
What about Rio OlympicsIJ
I have just answered the question. What can I tell you about the Rio Olympics.
By tweeting a day before the competition, were you trying to put up a challenge for yourself to shoot betterIJ
No, I just wanted to bring it out into the public. You people complain that I don’t talk, here I am giving you information, now (again) there is a problem.
How would you assess your performance in the FinalIJ
I think I shot very well. In fact, I shot well in the competition as well. I worked very hard for this.The gold was within your reach. In shooting, nothing is within the reach. It has to happen. Shooting is a sport where nothing is won till the end. And I am absolutely delighted with what I did.
But you were at the top and then you had a bad shot of 9.6....
That’s how it happens in the sport.
You are an Olympic gold medalist but here you could manage just a bronze...
Every medal is a medal so I don’t have any regrets.
Today you shot very well under pressure. How are you feeling right nowIJ
I am fine. A bit tired. I want to go and eat something. I want to go home.
Why did you suddenly decide to call it a dayIJ
It wasn’t a sudden decision. I thought over it.
For how longIJ
I thought about it for 7-8 minutes.
Just 7-8 minutesIJ
Yeah. What more should I thinkIJ What else you want me to think aboutIJ
Now that you will have a lot of free time, what are you going to doIJ
I will not have free time. A challenging life awaits me.
lot of young shooters are coming up. Any plans to work with themIJ
Yes, on October 6, I am going to Bangalore to do some work with my foundation where we are giving some scholarships to several shooters. There is a process of selecting them and doing some workshops with them.
How would you describe your journeyIJ
I think I did well. It was a decent journey. Going out with an Asian Games bronze medal isn’t a small thing. Competition level is pretty high here.
You want to give some message for the youngstersIJ
Don’t give up on your dreams and work hard.