Shooting star Bindra signs off with double bronze

Abhinav Bindra takes a shot at the Barry Buddon shooting centre at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/Files

INCHEON South Korea (Reuters) - Shooting ace Abhinav Bindra signed off from his final Asian Games on Tuesday with two bronze medals and an eye on one last Olympic hurrah in Rio de Janeiro. On Monday, the bespectacled 31-year-old, who won independent India's first individual Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games six years ago, said the current Asian Games would be his last. Bindra teamed up with Ravi Kumar and Sanjeev Rajput in the 10 metres air rifle men's team finals in the morning to win bronze behind China and South Korea. And he then emerged from the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range in the afternoon with his second bronze medal after finishing behind the Chinese duo of Yang Haoran and Cao Yifei. "I am happy with the results. It was a tough competition today and the Chinese were excellent, but I am glad I managed to hang on and return with a medal," Bindra said. With the success in Incheon, Bindra achieved the feat of winning medals in all the major international competitions. He won the World Championships in 2006, Olympic gold in 2008, Asian Championships in 2012 and Commonwealth Games gold earlier this year at Glasgow. The National Rifle Association of India, the governing body of the sport in the country, paid rich tributes to the marksman. "Abhinav has once again proven to be the champion that he is. As president NRAI I would like to assure all that Abhinav shall be making all efforts to re-emulate his Olympic gold performance at Rio," NRAI chief Raninder Singh said. "He wants his medal back and NRAI will not be found wanting in support to him in this noble effort." Bindra, whose relentless pursuit for perfection is well documented, confirmed his desire to get back on the range for the Rio Olympics in two years' time. "I will train twice a week I will give trials. My participation in World Cups shall only happen if I feel like it and only when I am playing good enough with better scores," Bindra added. "I will then try for the quota place and would become a hobby shooter. "Shooting is in my blood and I cannot do without it. If I don't shoot for two weeks my body becomes numb." (Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Patrick Johnston)