Bindra elected in ISSF's athlete committee
He may not have clinched a medal at the World Championships this time but Olympic gold-winning Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra continued to rise in stature by getting elected to the International Shooting Sport Federation's (ISSF) Athlete Committee.
The rifle shooter, who became the first individual Olympic gold medallist for India by finishing on top in the 2008 Beijing Games, was voted into the four-member panel by his fellow marksmen competing in the 50th World Championships in Munich, Germany on Thursday.
Bindra, who became a world champion in the 2006 edition, did not have a very good time in the just-concluded edition, finishing 25th in the qualifying of the 10m air rifle event.
Ironically, his name for the committee was proposed by the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) with which he has often been at loggerheads over facilities and selection procedures.
A total of 827 shooters voted to elect the new committee. Apart from Bindra, the others who have been elected are Slovak Rajmond Debevec, Frenchman Franck Dumoulin and Russia's Vladimir Isakov.
While Debevec, a seven-time Olympian, clinched the 50m rifle 3 position gold in the 2000 edition, Dumoulin finished on top in the 10m air pistol event of the Games in the same year.
Isakov won a 10m air pistol bronze in the 2004 Athens Olympics and followed it up with another third-place finish in the 50m pistol event of the 2008 Beijing Games.
The committee's chairman and three additional members will be designated by the ISSF from a list of candidates.
The committee's brief is to gather information and opinions from athletes on their needs and problems and to establish a direct link with the athletes within the ISSF.
The committee coordinates activities with athletes committees of other international federations; it strives for the best possible conditions for the training,
accommodation and living conditions for the athletes and supports the fight against doping and drugs.
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