India wins first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics

145 Comments

barcelona10, on 08/11/2008, -1/+65congrats to Abhinav Bindra and India.
Maverick340, on 08/11/2008, -4/+66First Gold in 88 years. This is EPIC !
lekahe, on 08/11/2008, -1/+50Congratulations!; Also notable that Finland won it's first medal: bronze for Henri Häkkinen :)
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -1/+41Wow...hurray...!!!
problogger, on 08/11/2008, -3/+37wow - amazing that a country with the population the size of India has never won an individual gold before - just amazing! I think us Aussies take them too much for granted.
sungoddess808, on 08/11/2008, -0/+32Awesome! =)
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -2/+26i for one welcome our new headshooting indian overlords
whoomp123, on 08/11/2008, -5/+28should i call customer service and say congrats?
Crazysah, on 08/11/2008, -2/+25OMG! This is just one amazing moment! I am truly proud to be an Indian!
Rubab, on 08/11/2008, -0/+20congratulations..
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+20congratulation's Abhinav Bindra
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -1/+21He's gonna get so much Pussy back home.
ashwinmudigonda, on 08/11/2008, -2/+19Sadly, there is no incentive for sportsmen. Whereas, in the West, the various companies will immediately grab the Olympian and put him on billboards holding cat food to handkerchiefs, India's pretty much closed economy had no reason to advertise. You have to understand that as recent as 7...8 years ago, the average Indian had a choice of only 3 car companies - Fiat, Maruthi and Ambassador. Life was simple and the only instant noodles manufacturer had to advertise to INFORM the people that there was a product such as this in the market not to compete. With such a low demand for high profile advertisement, it was inevitable that some of the Indian legends such as Milka Singh, after winning medals, were forced into a life of poverty and penury, even selling off their medals for sustenance. Thus, there was no incentive for parents to suffer the loss of their child into abject poverty after just a few months of Olympian glory.
Things are changing, however. Cricket, even though not the national sport, is drawing billions of rupees. And things have just begun with the Cricket board organizing American NFL-esque league matches lasting few hours, than few days. And already, there is a choice of about a couple of dozen cars! People have money to spend and want to spend, which would mean advertising revenue and hopefully, a decent life for successful athletes.
Taiyoryu, on 08/11/2008, -1/+18Go India! Now pass me the khemma mutter and some naan. :-9
iofthestorm, on 08/11/2008, -0/+16Of course, that's field hockey, not the ice hockey that north americans such as myself would think of.
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+15Bindra is bound for Bollywood!
punkcat, on 08/11/2008, -0/+13its not their first gold in 88 years, first gold for an individual, non team
kenedamick, on 08/11/2008, -1/+14Man I love Tandori Chicken and Naan.
kingmanic, on 08/11/2008, -3/+16Australia does much better then a country of it's population normally does. We assume here in Canada, that it's because you guys spend so much time dodging scorpions, crocodiles, and blond bushmen with big knives.

I'm not sure why India does so poorly but it may be related to the caste system.
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -1/+14Cheers Abhinav Bindra :)
kingmanic, on 08/11/2008, -0/+12You do realize India was one of the great civilizations in history. Up there with Rome, China, Persia, and Egypt. It was British attempts to emulate high quality Indian fabrics which sparked the industrial revolution and India had a history of being some of the worlds best ship builders. India was one of the reasons for colonial Britains naval superiority as Britain made good use of the Indian shipyards.

Britain stumbled upon a declining India and divided and conquered it. India hasn't been able to get back to it's former glory but it's silly to call it a shadow of Britain.
WordsnCollision, on 08/11/2008, -2/+13India has never won an individual event before these Games but won a team gold at the 1980 Moscow Games in men's field hockey. Bindra won much more than just a gold medal - he's being showered with cash and has been given a lifetime rail pass.
Albear89, on 08/11/2008, -0/+11nice
paradisetonight, on 08/11/2008, -0/+11India has like no sports infrastructure, that's why you see a lot of Indian programmers (like me) but barely any athletes
bazigar, on 08/11/2008, -0/+11USED to rock. India did not qualify this time in field hockey.
Djerrid, on 08/11/2008, -0/+11FTA: Never again will anyone be able to point a smug, sardonic finger and say: "No Indian is good enough to win an individual Olympic gold."

WTF?
deenoop, on 08/11/2008, -2/+12they do poorly because they don't budget for things like sports in schools and stuff.

it's all math, science, etc. Sad really.

although, we do have the american Raj Bhavsar competing for Gymnastics.
SQLDigger, on 08/11/2008, -2/+12Congrats, India.
FearFactory, on 08/11/2008, -1/+11hey man nice shot
indraneel24, on 08/11/2008, -1/+11Go India!
ilistenisee, on 08/11/2008, -2/+11i really thought the Chinese guy was going to win. But, great for the indian guy, i'm sure it's been a long/proud journey for him, and for his country.

seriously, India needs to step up in sports...India's definitely got lots of potentials.
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+9Oh, FIELD hockey. The article just says hockey. Now it makes sense.
gasin, on 08/11/2008, -0/+9Rail Pass! Now that's pimpin ;)
JohnnyRad, on 08/11/2008, -3/+12"somebody's ass getting laid tonight"
-Dr. Shockula
Sogui, on 08/11/2008, -2/+11Grats India, but seriously, how does a country with a population of 1+ billion take this long to find a single talented athlete?
varunasingh, on 08/11/2008, -1/+9Jai Hind !
wiiwillrockyou, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8VANDE MATARAM!
admdrew, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8Have you *played* Where's Waldo?
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -3/+1110m air rifle? Is that like air guitar?
*Ptxium Ptxium!*
/joking
inactive, on 08/11/2008, -0/+8Hey, this guy's CEO of a games company!
maheshee11, on 08/11/2008, -1/+9To describe it in one word:
Historical !
Shankey19, on 08/11/2008, -4/+12Great. I hope more Indians win.
admdrew, on 08/11/2008, -0/+7No 7-Elevens in India. Guessing the closest one is in Thailand.
MysticSavage, on 08/11/2008, -0/+7No one beats Apu...no one. Now, as a token of my appreciation, please accept this baby.
srujanlive, on 08/11/2008, -1/+7He did win the gold on the same day the Indian Cricket team lost a series to Sri Lanka. Talk about timing!!!!
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