ABHINAV BINDRA: FIRST SOLO OLYMPIC GOLD, 2008 - The Golden Trendsetter

The calm of a yogi, the eye of a hunter. Abhinav Bindra needed that. For, he was about to shoot down demons of the collective Indian mind

- BY RAHUL NORONHA

It's de rigueur these days for sportspeople to be a little exhibitionistic with their emotions—leaps of joy, chest-butting, flowing tears, or what in the animal world are called ritualised aggression and 'agonistic' displays. Sixteen years ago, a young man showed another way to be. A zen-like halo of quiet seemed to surround his bespectacled face, even as the Indians in the stands went wild. They had reason to. Abhinav Bindra had just happened. India's first individual Olympic gold. The first. In 2008, its 61st year as a free nation. Bindra, boyish at 26, bookish of manner, and half a foot shorter than the Finn he was tied with in the final, looked as if he had just stepped out of a library. But outside of him, he was setting off a storm. Far beyond this shooting range in suburban Beijing. Or the collective of Indian sport lovers. If instead of his .177 calibr