Bindra does India proud: Pargat

Chandigarh, Aug 11 (UNI) Punjab Sports Director Olympian Pargat Singh congratulated ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra for striking first gold for the country in shooting with an aggregate total of 700.5, including 104.5 points in the final round of the 10m Men's Air Rifle in the Beijing Olympics today..

In a congratulatory message, the former Indian hockey captain Padam Shree Pargat Singh said "it was a golden moment in the Indian history when 1982-born Bindra struck gold pushing Athens Olympics gold medalist Zhu Qinan to the second position. It is a most creditable performance by an Indian in the Olympic Games", he added.

"The golden peformance by Abhinav Bindra, who had finished seventh in the Athens Olympics in 2004, with 694.6 and gold medal in the World Championship in Zagreb (Croatia) with 699.1, will give a big boost to shooting in India, specially in Punjab", he said.

"It was expected from Bindra and he did India proud," said the Punjab Sports Director said.

The Punjab Government had announced that any Punjab player winning a gold medal in Olympics would be honoured with a cash award of Rs one crore under its sports policy.

After scoring 100+ 99+100+98+100+ 99=596 in qualifying, Bindra's sequence in the final was 10.7+10.3+10.4+10.5+10.5 +10.6+10+10.2+10.8+104.5 for the golden podium.

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