Because he is all that New India could be. The India that isn’t dependent on anyone to succeed — least of all a government that has all but ignored Olympic sport. It is the India that does what has to be done to get the job done, with an unwavering eye on its target. It is an India that is willing to take the game to the world.

Because he may have been the chosen one, the man destined to break the 28-year-old gold drought that had parched our nation. And that too, in China. He does, after all, share a birthday with Confucius. Abhinav Singh Bindra was born on September 28, 1982, exactly 2,533 years after the great Chinese philosopher. It must be fate!

Or not. We prefer to call it coincidence. Because nothing but sheer hard work put Abhinav on the podium on Monday, August 11, 2008, with the Indian flag flying highest, where it’s never been for an individual sport.

Because we are sick of swagger and Abhinav seems least likely to start strutting around like a preening peacock. Yes, Abhinav may be so stoic that he deprives the awe-struck audience of its sentimental soundbites, but is it right to expect a man who can shoot like a commando to shoot off his mouth like a silly starlet? And if he were to oblige, would we like him any better for it?

Because he isn’t a cricketer. It’s that simple. We need role models to inspire kids to look beyond bat and ball and we need them now.

Because someone so composed and able to shoulder so much responsibility should be immune to the hype our country will swamp him in. And he comes from money, so there is no chance that sudden wealth will faze him. The Rs 1 crore the Punjab government has promised him is less than what he spends every year to hone his skills.

Because his face isn’t plastered everywhere selling something or the other. There is an innocence to the untouched achiever. We don’t know how long it’ll last, but we’ll take what we get.

Because his mummy says he’s the most eligible bachelor in the country and we agree.

Because Michael Phelps isn’t Indian. No, we aren’t trying to belittle Abhinav Singh Bindra’s achievement in any way. We are merely calling for many more like him, to make us just as proud. Like he has said in his own blog: “The joy that the nation feels at my win is humbling. I just wish that this is repeated more and more often.”

Because until we strive to be the best, we won’t be the best, and no one knows that better than Abhinav himself. Why else would he dedicate himself to a sport so far away from the limelight when he could have been happy running his computer peripherals business? Why else would he spend so much of his own money, and hours of his time in his private shooting range, to get where he is now?

Because excellence matters. Because excellence is beautiful.