Abhinav Bindra, the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics, has been conferred with the Olympic Order for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement.
The Olympic Order is the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for meritorious services. Bindra, a member of the IOC Athletes Commission since 2018, is the first Indian to receive the Olympic Order.
The award will be officially handed over to him during the 142nd IOC Session in Paris on August 10, a day before the closing of the Paris Olympics. The decision to confer the award on Bindra was taken at the IOC Executive Board meeting in Paris on Saturday. The information was put on social media by many handles associated with government bodies.
“It is with great pleasure that I inform you that the IOC Executive Board has today decided to award you with the Olympic Order for your outstanding services to the Olympic November,” IOC President Thomas Bach informed Bindra in a letter on Monday.
“May I take this opportunity to address you my most sincere congratulations on this award. Looking forward to seeing you in Paris,” Bach said in the letter dated July 20, 2024.
Sports minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the Beijing Olympics gold medallist shooter highlighting that his achievement has instilled national pride and inspired future generations of athletes.
“Congratulations to @Abhinav_Bindra on being awarded the Olympic Order for outstanding contributions to the Olympic Movement! His achievement fills us with pride and is truly well-deserved. His name alone has inspired generations of shooters and Olympians,” Dr Mandaviya wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Bindra, now 41, created history by becoming India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist when he won the 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Games. He served as a member of the Athlete Commission of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) from 2010 to 2020, and as it Chair from 2014.