Couple of wayward shots costs Bindra Olympic medal, insists uncle

The uncle of Abhinav Bindra on Tuesday insisted that the Indian ace shooter had put his best foot forward to clinch a medal for the country in the ongoing Rio Olympics, but added that it was just a couple of wayward shots that cost him.

The 2008 Beijing Gold Medallist, who was expected to provide a much-needed turnaround for the Indian shooting contingent, suffered a heartbreak in his Olympic swansong as he missed out on a medal and settled for a fourth spot with an overall score of 163.8 in the finals of the Men's 10m Air Rifle event on Monday.

"He played very well. But it was a just a share of bad luck. He was doing very well in the beginning. He picked up really well, but a couple of wayward shots cost him. We expected that he will definitely win this time as he is bidding adieu to the game, but sports are unpredictive. He worked hard and tried his level best. It is heartbreaking for the family and for the friends and for the nations. Of course, nation comes first. Rest everything comes later on. He is the son of India. He does not belong to us anymore," Bindra's uncle Tejjbans Singh Johar said.

Downplaying any kind of pressure on Bindra, Tejjbans said that Bindra had been playing in Olympics since years and that he has got over from these kinds of pressure.

"I wish him all the luck and success in life. I don't think so he was under pressure. He has been playing for such a long time. He has played in number of Olympics earlier. I think he has got over that pressure. Pressure is definitely there on a player. But I will not say it was a pressure of being a flag bearer. It is a great honour that he was there," he said.

Experienced stalwart Bindra had earlier qualified for the finals after finishing seventh with an overall score of 625.7.

Meanwhile, Indian trap shooters Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Kynan Chenai had also crashed out of the prestigious tournament after making a 16th and 19th-place finish respectively in their qualification round.

India, who have sent their largest-ever contingent of 119 athletes in Rio Olympics, are yet to open their medal account in the ongoing Summer Games.