IT was the young and earnest Abhinav Bindra’s persistence, no doubt, that convinced his German coach Heinz Reinkemeier to start working with the shooting prodigy 16 years ago. A dozen new kids approach the reputed coach, tactician and psychoanalyst every month in Germany, sport shooting’s ultimate hub, so he wasn’t surprised when Bindra and his father approached him to train the promising boy. But it was one of the most abrasive, xenophobic and cynical moments in Germany’s post-War history, that serendipitously led to Reinkemeier deciding that he would take on the challenge of guiding the then teenaged Abhinav.
It led to the gold medal in Beijing in 2008, and now culminates in India’s flag-bearer at Rio gunning for a second medal, this August 8, with Reinkemeier sturdily still by his side.
The man who came up with the revolting slogan that Reinkemeier detested at first sight, was called Jürgen Rüttgers. It was around the time that a young Bindra had walked up to Reinkemeier at Munich asking to be mentored, though the German wasn’t sure it was the brightest of ideas: an Indian kid at rifle shooting, though promising and eager, just seemed too much of a long shot.
0 Comments