New Delhi: Abhinav Bindra’s gold-winning performance in 10m air rifle at the Zagreb World Championship may have surprised many, but not the man himself.

Smartly attired in a printed shirt and cream trousers, the 24-year-old shooter from Chandigarh was a picture of calmness when he faced the media shortly after landing at the Indira Gandhi International airport Friday morning.

“I knew I had it in me,” said the shooter on arrival, where he consulted a specialist for a chronic back pain.

“The Athens Olympics was a big boost. When I finished seventh there, I was confident I could do it on the big stage some day,” said Bindra, who was a world record-holder at the junior level as well.

Asked to explain his feelings the moment he ensured the gold medal in Zagreb, Bindra said: “Not much really.” One could be tempted to interpret that as snobbish, but it was clear from his next answer that Bindra was very honest in assessing his performance.

Now that he had become the country’s first shooting World Championship gold-medallist, will he be able to get India’s maiden individual Olympic gold in Beijing two years from now?

“How can I say about it now?” Bindra said with a wry smile. “Shooting is a highly competitive sport. Today I am a world champion, things could be different in the next meet. I have no control over others’ performance.”

Bindra made a strong statement for his sport. “In my opinion, shooting is the No. 1 sport in the country. We have had Olympic medallists, world champions and world record-holders. No other game can match the success achieved by Indian shooters,” Bindra said.

“We have a very talented group of shooters at present. This is one sport in which we are very strong. We always have the confidence that we can win. The important thing is to keep going,” he said.

The news on Bindra’s health front is good. The doctor in Germany is convinced that the shooter’s back pain is not bone-related and only a muscular one. He has advised Bindra to undergo three months of physiotherapy.

BINDRA FACTFILE

• Born: September 28, 1982 in Dehradun
  
  
• Place of Birth: Dehradun
  
  
• Residence: Chandigarh
  
  
• Highest World Ranking: Fifth
  
  
• Current World Ranking: 26th
  
  
• Personal Best Score: 600/600 (Qualification)
  
  
• Olympics: Sydney 2000 — Score 590, Rank 11 th; Athens 2004 — Score 694.6, Rank seventh
  
  
• Asian Shooting: Malaysia — Score 593, Rank-Bronze
  
  
• ISSF World Cups: China 2006 — Score 595, Rank- ninth; Munich 2003 — Score 699.9, Rank-Bronze; Changwon 2003 — Score 699.2, Rank fourth
  Commonwealth Games, 2006 — 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze; 2002 — 1 Gold, 1 Silver; 1998 — No medals, Score - 571
  
  
• World Shooting Championships: Score 699, Rank Gold
  
  
• Awards: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; Arjuna