Named after Abhinav Bindra, Abhinav Shaw now chases his own Olympic dream

In 2008, Abhinav Bindra won India’s first individual Olympic gold medal in Beijing.

That same year, Abhinav Shaw was born.

Today, at 18, Shaw is winning medals for India and building his own journey in 10m rifle shooting.

Shaw has won medals at the ISSF Junior World Championships, ISSF World Cups, ISSF Junior World Cups and the Asian Championships.

He is also part of the senior team and is currently ranked sixth.

The name Abhinav

Shaw’s name has its roots in the career of the man who inspired his father.

“I was following Abhinav Bindra since 2002. I was seeing his matches and how he was coming up, that he had his own range at home and all those things,” his father Rupesh Shaw told The Bridge.

“So when Abhinav was born, and being a boy, I directly named him after Abhinav sir. And that year itself, he won the gold for the country, the first Olympic medal. So it was God’s grace or whatever you can say,” he added.

Years later, Shaw is following the same sporting path, albeit with a journey of his own.

“Yeah, it feels great to have the same name as Abhinav sir, and I’m also on the same path. So, it’s the same dream for both of us, and let’s see,” Shaw said.

For Shaw’s father, however, the decision to put his son into sport went beyond Bindra and the name he chose for him. He had himself been interested in pistol shooting and had always wanted to become a sportsperson, but financial constraints meant he could not pursue that dream.

That experience made him determined to give his own child the opportunity he had missed.

“I am a private tutor and I go door-to-door and take tuitions. I have taught many children and they have done well in their careers. Some have become engineers, some have become CAs. But I have seen one thing: apart from their colleagues or their family members, no one knows them. But if a sportsperson does well, the whole country knows you,” he said.

“That is what struck me, and I had made a plan that whether it is a boy or a girl, I will put them into an individual sport.”

Why shooting?

His father felt shooting was the right sport for his child because the result was clear and based on performance.

“I felt shooting was a sport in which there is no manipulation. I have seen many other sports where favouritism and all those things are there, but shooting is such a sport where there is no manipulation. Whatever you are striking, if you hit 10, the screen shows 10.”

Shaw’s journey in shooting began to take shape early. His first international medal came in 2022, when he was just 13.

“My first international medal in 2022 holds a special memory for me. Also, in Kazakhstan, when I became the Junior Asian Champion. These two are the most precious to me,” Shaw said.

His father also remembers the significance of that first international outing.

“The first international medal was very special. It was his first international event, and he was just 13 years old at that time.”

Shaw’s medal collection has since grown, with podium finishes at the ISSF Junior World Championships, ISSF World Cups, ISSF Junior World Cups and the Asian Championships.

Making the jump to the senior team

Shaw is now part of the senior team and gets the opportunity to train alongside some of India’s leading shooters at the Delhi camp.

“It’s been a great experience. Right now, there are not many shooters here; there are only around five shooters. But there are many senior shooters as well. So, I observe their shooting patterns and what they do, and I always take notes from their shooting,” he said.

The camp has also given him the opportunity to work with senior coaches and fellow shooters.

“It’s good, actually. Here in the camp, you meet other shooters, your friends and all. So, we can really practise together and share our problems. We also play games during shooting, so it’s fun. There are many senior coaches here as well, so you get to learn a lot from them,” he said.

The transition to the senior level, however, brings a different challenge in a country with considerable depth in shooting.

Breaking through in Indian shooting

While Shaw has already made his mark at the junior level, his father knows that establishing himself among India’s senior shooters will be much harder.

“I am training him because he is not under anyone. I am only training him. I know he has all the capabilities of doing that, but to be honest, India is full of shooting talent,” he said.

“To be there in the top two when the Olympic qualification trials start, we need to work hard a lot. I know he will be able to do it. He has all those capabilities,” he added.

At 18, Shaw is already a member of the senior team and is ranked sixth, something his father believes is significant given the depth of talent in the country.

“At the age of 18, being a member of the senior team and being ranked sixth is not a joke in this country, where the talent is too much,” he said.

His father also believes Shaw must continue to learn from the senior coaches around him as he develops.

“It is not that whatever I am teaching is right. No, take those things and apply those things. Maybe you will get better results from there because they are more qualified than us.”

For Shaw, the immediate targets are senior World Championship medals and an Olympic quota.

“My aim for the future, right now before the Olympics, is to play in several senior World Championships and win medals there, and to win the Olympic quota as well,” he concluded.