Abhinav Bindra selected as torchbearer for Paris 2024 Olympics
The former shooter won the men’s 10m air rifle event at Beijing 2008 and is India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal winner.
Former shooter Abhinav Bindra, India’s first Olympic gold medallist, will take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay.
“Excited to share that I'll be a torchbearer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a beacon of peace and perseverance across the globe” the Beijing 2008 10m air rifle champion said on social media. “This flame represents our collective spirit and the power of dreams. A great privilege and honour!”
The Olympic Torch Relay is an ancient tradition that precedes the Summer Games. The modern iteration of the relay has been in practice since Berlin 1936.
For Paris 2024, the sacred Olympic flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece - the birthplace of the Olympics - on April 16 before travelling to Athens. The flame will cross the Mediterranean on board the Belem, a three masted ship, to Marseille.
After landing in Marseille on May 8, the Olympic torch will set off for a 68-day-long Olympic Torch Relay across France, traversing 65 territories before arriving in the French capital, the host city, to officially flag off the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will conclude on August 11.
As of May 2024, 11,000 torch bearers, including Bindra, have been chosen to form a relay to celebrate the arrival of the Games in France.
Abhinav Bindra, also a member of the Athletes Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was selected through an elaborate process which started on June 1 last year.