In a candid reflection on India Today’s UnPolitics podcast, India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra, reveals the profound personal cost of his historic 2008 Beijing Olympics victory. The decorated shooter details his obsessive and unconventional training methods, which included recreating the Olympic shooting range in a marriage hall and undergoing laser surgery for stability.

Despite his success, Bindra admits to a feeling of unfulfillment and dehumanising his pursuit, stating he should have nurtured the human before the athlete. Looking beyond his own career, Bindra critiques India’s ‘transactional’ relationship with sport and advocates for a robust grassroots culture to foster future champions.

Since his retirement after the 2016 Rio Olympics, he has not picked up a rifle, instead focusing on his foundation’s work to bring the Olympic Values Education Programme to schools across India.