A Shot At History (English, Hardcover, Bindra Abhinav)

The book is an autobiography of the Olympic Gold Medalist Shooter, Abhinav Bindra.

Summary Of The Book

A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold  traces Abhinav Bindra’s relentless pursuit of perfection, towards his dream of achieving the coveted trophy, an Olympic Gold Medal.

Bindra’s story is the story of a champion athlete, with all the triumphs and agonies that such a career entails.

Abhinav Bindra was born in an affluent family that could afford the best training, coaches, and facilities. But he clearly points out that having the best of everything does not ensure success. In his book, he clearly outlines that only a hunger for excellence and an inner desire to be the best can help a person succeed in life.

His journey started young, when he would practice shooting at paper targets as a child. Later, he was trained by international coaches. Abhinav Bindra talks in length about these people, his trainers and coaches, who enormously contributed to his rise as a professional shooter.

His long time German Coach, Gaby Buehlmann, helped him stay grounded after his bitter disappointment at finishing seventh during the Athens Olympics in 2004. In fact, he even considered giving up the sport altogether, but Buehlmann helped him get back on his feet and stay focused.
Bindra also recalls how a letter from Uwe Reisterer, his consultant coach, helped regain his focus. The letter told him that he could be the World Champion in 2006, and go on to be an Olympic Champion two years later.

In this book, Bindra also acknowledges his inspirations and other champion shooters that he looked up to, including Gagan Narang, Samaresh Jung, Jaspal Rana and Anjali Bhagwat.

A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold begins at a low point in his life - his failure to win a medal at the Olympics in Athens, in 2004. From this darkest hour in his career, the book traces his journey, before and after that event, to his eventual triumph at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The book also highlights the unique situation faced by an Olympic contestant. As Bindra explains, a cricketer can play several test matches in a year, and a tennis or golf player has several Grand Slam events in a year. If they fail in one, they will have a chance of redemption at another event within that year. But for an Olympic athlete, fame and glory comes only once every four years. The book is aptly tailored to inspire the ambitious to further glory.

About The Authors

A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold was written by Abhinav Bindra and renowned sports writer Rohit Brijnath.

Abhinav Bindra is well-known for bringing glory to India, in the form of an Olympic gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Event during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

His tryst with shooting started when he was young, and he went on to train under some of the best coaches in the field. He won a Bronze medal in the Munich World Cup, in the year 2001, and the Gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, in the years 2002 and 2006. An alumnus of the University of Colorado, he is the Chief Executive Officer at Abhinav Futuristics. 

Rohit Brijnath is a famous sports journalist in India. He has enjoyed a remarkable career in the field, and has written for Sportsworld, India Today, BBC News, and Sportstar.