With 150 medal to his name across his illustrious career in the sport of Air Rifle Shooting, India's Abhinav Bindra was bestowed with the glorious Olympic Order at the 142nd IOC Session just before the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. He is the first Indian to have received the Olympic Order, which is the highest honour bestowed by the International Olympic Committee for contribution to Olympic values.

Bindra has not been chosen only for the fact that he has received 150 medals in the sport or that he is the first Indian to have won a Gold in the sport of Air Rifle Shooting or for the fact that he is the first Indian individual to have received a Gold Medal.

His contributions to the cause of sport and Olympics has been far more than that. The Olympic Order, established in 1975 is the highest honour given by the IOC and recognises invididuals who have contributed to the Olympic movement and to the field of Sport, both on and off arena.

India's first individual Olympic gold medalist, IOC Athletes' Commission Vice-Chair @Abhinav_Bindra has been bestowed with the prestigious Olympic Order, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Olympic Movement. pic.twitter.com/j0hbtCqAPy

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) August 10, 2024

Apart from being India's first Gold Medallist at the Olympics, Bindra is also the first Indian to have won the World Championship Gold in Air Rifle Shooting. He is also the recipient of the Blue Cross in 2018, which is again the highest order bestowed by the International Shooting Sports Federation, ISSF. He  Bindra has also served as the ISSF Athletes Committee for 8 years during which he made commendable contributions in governance of this sport. He also set up the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP), with significant assistance from the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage of the IOC and the governments of Assam and Odisha. 

Abhinav Bindra retired from professional shooting and set up the Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust, which is a non profit organisation for the support of grassroot athletes in the country.

“When I was a young boy, it was these Olympic rings, which gave meaning to my life...it was a privilege to be able to pursue my Olympic dream for over two decades. Post my athletic career, it has been a great passion of mine to try and contribute back to the Olympic Movement. It has been a privilege and an honour. This award only feeds that passion more and I hope to continue to work even harder and keep contributing to the Olympic Movement for the rest of my life.” - Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav once said that it is not about personal ambition, but about how it meant so much to so many people in the community. Through his ABFT he has made a remarkable journey to harness the transformative power of sports, to improve lives and build stronger communities. One of the foundations strongest initiatives was the OVEP to bring the benefit of sports to nearly nearly 11,000 schools and 1.5Cr  school children. This project is the shining example of sport as a low cost high impact tool for social change, fostering inclusivity, promoting physical and mental health and nurturing essential skills among young people.

Bindra has also been instrumental in expanding the Olympic Forest Plan across India.