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Abhinav Bindra (right) with his Swiss coach Gabrielle Buhlmann. |
That's why Abhinav Bindra and his Swiss coach Gabrielle Buhlmann decided to take each day as it comes. "Abhinav's philosophy was 'same s#@t, different day' and it worked," Buhlmann coach of India's gold medal hero told MiD DAY at the Beijing Shooting Range.
Cool head
Abhinav met the 44-year-old Germany-based Swiss coach for the first time at the Sydney Games in 2000. "He was only 17 then, very young and so he had a lot to learn. But what helped him is his cool head and his quiet, introvert nature," added Buhlmann, who is also coaching the Italian shooting team here.
A five-time Olympian herself, Buhlmann may not be one of the world's best shooters, however her knowledge of the sport is conclusive given that she has authored books on the subject of shooting. 'Air Rifle Shooting and Ways Of The Gun' are a couple of her works that make a good read. Probably that's why Buhlmann could read a bright future ahead for Abhinav.
Philosopher
"The fact that he is a philosopher has gone a long way in helping Abhinav improve as a shooter. Technically, he was always sound and only needed a bit of a tweak here and there. I don't wish to take any of the credit for this gold medal, it's all entirely his hard work that has paid off," she said modestly.
Abhinav spent the last four weeks in the run-up to Beijing at Buhlmann's home in Dortmund, Germany. Buhlmann explained their pre-Beijing schedule. "We trained for seven-eight hours a day after which he would come home and spend some time surfing the net or sometimes watching TV or listening to some music before retiring to bed. That was our schedule, which we followed stringently. I was very happy with what I was seeing," she said.
In fact, such was Buhlmann's faith in Abhinav that even before he shot his final 10.8 to strike gold, she could see it coming. "I knew he would do it. It was his last shot and I was confident it would be his best," she said.
Buhlmann was the first person Abhinav hugged after his gold medal winning feat.
"That was a special moment. But that was also the last I saw of him. He has been very hassled since then with all the publicity following his win. In fact even our next meeting is not fixed yet, because we can only do so after he survives the next two weeks of crazy celebrations that are expected when he returns to India," said a worried Buhlmann.
More than winning
So, with nothing more to win, having already won the World Championship and now the Olympic gold, is it time Abhinav put his gun away. "That's his call, but I have always believed that there's a lot to shooting than only winning. You have to enjoy the sport and only then can you go on and on and on," she signed off.
