How does it feel to climb Mount Everest, stand on top of the world and then make the perilous descent to sea level? Ask that question to intensely focused shooter Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra.

“Currently I’m enjoying doing nothing because for years I haven’t been able to do nothing,” says the rarely smiling shooting star.

For Bindra the world has altered beyond recognition ever since he returned home from the Beijing Olympics to overnight stardom as the country’s sole gold medallist.

“For me celebrations have just begun — now I have more time for myself which is giving me an opportunity to reflect on my achievements and what I have done for the last 14-15 years,” he says.

Ever since his return, Bindra has spent most of his time holed up at his farmhouse in Zirakpur, just outside Chandigarh. He hasn’t returned to the shooting range yet and, instead, he’s thinking deeply about the future. He faces the task of plotting a new course for his career and deciding about the future.

Bindra with first runner-up Zhu Qinan of China (left) and second runner-up Henri Hakkinen of Finland after winning the gold at the 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; (Below) The marksman with some of his awards

“I have a lot of options in hand and am looking forward to making some significant decisions,” says the 26-year-old gold medallist.

Now that he has pressed the trigger to Olympic glory it looks as if Bindra is searching for new peaks to conquer. Rather like a mountain climber who suddenly announces that he will make his next ascent without oxygen, Bindra now says he will switch from 10m air rifle shooting to 50m air rifle shooting.

The 2012 Olympics are obviously on his mind. He is eagerly awaiting the London Olympics calendar which will be out by end of the month. “The calendar will determine whether I’ll have to go through a series of qualification rounds or whether I get a direct entry through the Olympics quota for the 2012 Games” he says.

A lot depends on what happens during his training over the coming months. “If I’m satisfied with my training I will go for the 50m air rifle shooting for both the Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics,” says Bindra. The 50m shooting is considered more challenging though Bindra has entered the contests before.

Bindra is still a youthful 26 and shooters don’t retire early from the sporting scene. But it’s clear that, ever since he won the Olympic gold, he’s been looking at the world slightly beyond the sights of a rifle — he wants to start schools around the country that will train budding shooting stars.

(From top) At home with mother Babli Bindra and sister Divya; posing for the camera; with the trophy he won at the Punjab State Shooting Championship in 1996

He has already been offered land in several states and is figuring out which would be the best to start on. “We are working out the modalities on how to kick-start the project,” he says, adding that he aims to get the project off the ground by January.

The Olympic medal has brought fame and its accoutrements along with it. He is suddenly very much in demand as an advertising brand ambassador. His Samsung commercial is already on air and he has several other offers even though the ad market is slowing down.

Bindra admits that it has all been a new experience for him. Facing a camera is very different from the rigorous daily routine of practising at the range and taking part in shooting competitions.

“Camera shooting is unlike rifle shooting and you can make as many mistakes as you want but if in real life you make a mistake, it stays,” says Bindra.

Does Bindra see himself as a coach at some distant time in the future? To help aspiring shooters, Bindra has already co-authored a book with his coaches Gabriele Buhlmann and Heinz Renk-leimier. The book’s called Ways of the Rifle and is being published by the ace shooter himself — he says it’s his tribute to the discipline. “I wanted to give back something to the sport,” he explains.

The book is a complete coaching manual with details about every stage of the game. There are parts about technique, preparation, psychology, nutrition and fitness. “It’s a picture-heavy book with about 2,000 pictures which explain different techniques and shooting positions,” says Bindra, who was introduced to the game when he moved to Chandigarh from Dehradun at the age of 13.

Nevertheless it’s clear there’s something of a void in Bindra’s life at the moment. One of his favourite pastimes is watching movies but he hasn’t watched any of the latest flicks in the past few months. He has enjoyed the luxury of sleeping late and most of the times he just hangs about the house doing nothing in particular.

Also another pastime is blogging which he religiously did even during the Games. “It’s a medium of interaction with fans and expressing myself,” says Bindra.

After the Olympic medal, however, he has been quite overwhelmed by the gigantic number of congratulatory telegrams and messages. His Facebook site has been bombarded with friendship requests from about 2,000 people. He says that he hasn’t been able to reply to all his fans and blames it on the fact that he lives outside the city limits. “I haven’t been able to accept these requests because the Internet connection at my home is quite erratic,” he explains.

President Pratibha Patil has words of encouragement for the Olympic gold medallist. At the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi

It’s all a huge change from his life in the target zone. While training for the Olympics he followed a gruelling training schedule that was both mentally and physically exhausting. For three months before the final tournament, Bindra trained 40 hours a week in Germany with his coach Buhlmann. The training included cardio workouts and shooting-specific fitness exercises. To beat the backache problem, he spent two to three hours exercising everyday.

For improving his mental well-being he spent countless hours doing biofeedback and neurofeedback training. During these sessions he had sensors attached to his brain which tried to decipher his state of mind when he took aim.

“If your state of mind is not composed then you train your mind in a specific state of mind which is ideal for the performance. I have spent thousands of hours taking this training,” explains Bindra.

Bindra might be only 26 but he’s already a veteran in the shooting scene. He first picked up a rifle seriously when he moved to Chandigarh after prematurely ending his stint at the Doon School. “Had I not left the boarding school I would have never learnt a thing about shooting,” reckons Bindra.

His parents encouraged him to excel at the sport. His father Dr Apjit Singh Bindra and mother Babli Bindra are promoters of the Hitech Group of Companies which has interests in agro and dogfood-processing, computer gaming, livestock genetics and pharmaceuticals.

Says Apjit Singh Bindra: “We made all possible efforts to help him pursue his interest, even if that meant some compromises and a few investments.” The obviously proud father adds: “It’s a great feeling to be the father of the only Olympic gold medallist for India in 112 years. We know he has the potential and will make us and our country proud for years to come,” he adds.

It was a family friend of the Bindras’ who introduced Bindra to his first coach Lt Colonel J.S. Dhillon. Initially, he just wanted to shoot well for the fun of it but as he improved his goals began to change. “As a teenager the only thrill was to do best in your district,” he recalls. With constant training his goals started getting bigger.

Bindra has been chilling at his farmhouse in Zirakpur, outside Chandigarh since his return from Beijing

He quickly began to show promise and by the time he was in the 11th standard he was sent to Luxembourg to train under a German coach, Gaby Buhlmann. His practice sessions were usually planned during his vacations, because his school only granted him permission to train before competitions. Buhlmann, who has known him for almost 10 years, says: “Abhinav’s motivation was the sole element that led to his gold medal.”

But he was always single-minded, almost obsessively so. Buhlmann recalls she often had to pull him out of the shooting range during our training sessions long after the other kids had headed home. “Very few people have such strong commitment and passion for their profession and Abhinav is one such rare boon to the sport and will be for years to come,” she says.

In Chandigarh, Bindra studied in St Stephen’s School. After school he would reach home at 2pm and 3pm to 6pm were devoted to rigorous practise. When the time came for higher studies, he headed for the University of Colorado for a degree in business administration. There he practised regularly at the university shooting range and also travelled regularly to Europe to train with Buhlmann. Did shooting affect his studies? “I did ok in studies though I wasn’t a brilliant student,” he says.

Bindra reckons that he hasn’t been affected by fame and glory and that his life hasn’t changed much. “The euphoria around me hasn’t changed me as a person. I’m quite balanced because I understand sports quite well. One day you are at the top and the next day you could be right in the bottom,” he says philosophically.

He’s famously unemotional in public but says he’s close to his family and especially his elder sister Divya Kapur who is married and lives in Delhi. Is he getting married in the near future? “Not for another five years. I’m not ready yet,” he says defensively.

Like every sportsperson Bindra confesses he has his fears and insecurities too. “When you are an athlete you always have insecurities about your performance and I too have fears about not performing up to the mark,” he says.

And is he really cold and a person who keeps a lid on his emotions? “What not many people know about me is that I’m quite funny as a person,” he says, allowing himself a broad grin.