Let's have the celebrations: India has won its first ever individual gold in olympics

Olympics 2008 updates: Click here to know the Overall medal standing in 2008 Olympics.

India's solo gold medal won by Abhinav Bindra:

It was unbelievable. I had a phone call. It was unexpected. History has been created. India's Abhinav Bindra has done it and made country proud by winning a gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008. Abhinav Bindra clinched the gold in shooting with a spectacular performance in the air rifle (10 m) final on Monday (August 11, 2008). The 25-year-old Indian shooting ace finished with an overall score of (596+104.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot.

It was first ever individual gold medal for India. Earlier India has won eight gold medal in Hockey but that was a team effort. It was joy and celebration everywhere when the reports of Abhinav Bindra’s great victory flashed across the television channels. Indians have been dreaming for this for decades and it took about 88 years to achieve this feat by an individual Indian.. Emotions ran high when the national anthem was played in the Olympic Stadium at Beijing. President, Prime Minister, political partie's Presidents, Cabinet Ministers IOA and all leaders and officials have congratulated Abhinav Bindra for achieving this great feat.

President Pratibha Patil said " Bindra has realised the dreamof one billion people."

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said the shooter has " done the nation proud through his spectacular achievement which I hope will inspire other sportspersons of the country."

Kapil Dev, the former cricketer and captain of Cricket world cup winniner team (1983) said that this medal was more important than the 1983 cricket World Cup victory.

"This is much, much bigger than the World Cup," Kapil Dev quipped. "I hope it will do as much for Olympic sports as ours in 1983 did for cricket.

Indian ambassador to China said that I am on the cloud nine.

Several Indian states announced cash awards:

Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh announceda cash reward of Rs. 10 lakh for Bindra.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announced 11 lakh rupees

Thirty lakh rupees from the central government

and 25 lakh from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“It’s just great,” Bindra told Reuters just before climbing on to the podium.

"I had to go for it on the last shot. Today was my day. I am happy and thrilled. I can't describe it," said Bindra.

Bindra said that he hopes that his medal would change the face of Olympics Sports in India. He also said that he became very aggressive, as he had entered the final as fourth. A proud nation salutes Abhinav.

Biography and achievements:

• Born in an affluent family in Chandigarh, India, on September 28, 1983,
• Became the youngest participant at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
• Junior world record score of 597/600 in 2001 Munich World Cup and won bronze;

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2001.
• Gold in in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event in 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games,

• Bindra won six gold medals at various international meets in the European Circuit in 2001.

• In 2006, he became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold in Zagreb.

India's Olympic Record:

• India first participation in Olympics was in 1900 in Paris. Norman Pritchard, an Anglo Indian bagged two silver medals in 200 m. sprint and 200 m hurdles.

• In 1928 Amsterdam, Indian Hockey team participated in their first Olympic hockey event and won the gold medal under the captaincy of Jaipal Singh.
• For the next 6 successive Olympics, Indians retained their gold medal for the hockey event. Hockey wizard Dhyan Chand played a major role in Indian victory in the first three successive wins.

• India again won two more gold medals in Olympic hockey in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

• India won bronzes for wrestling ( Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav 1952 Helsinki), shooting ( Dr Karni Singh 1964 Tokyo), tennis ( Leander Paes 1996 Atlanta) and weightlifting ( Karnam Malleswari) 2000 Sydney).
• Rajya VardhanRathore won the silver medal in double trap shooting in Athens Olympic 2004.