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'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh joined the country in celebrating shooter Abhinav Bindra's gold medal-winning feat at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
Bindra Bindra won India's first ever individual Olympic gold medal after a come-from-behind victory in the men's 10 metres air rifle event.
"Abhinav has turned my dream into reality by capturing the gold medal in 10 meters air rifle event. This is the happiest moment of my life, as I wanted to see someone waving the tricolour on top of the podium and the National anthem being played by the Olympic band," Milkha Singh told rediff.com in New Delhi before boarding a flight to Chandigarh.
Milkha, who missed an Olympic medal by one-tenths of a second while finishing fourth in the 400 metres run at the Rome Olympics in 1960, said Abhinav's parents need to be congratulated, "as they gave birth to one of the finest sportpersons".
He also singled out the showing of Abhinav's coach, saying, "Col. Dhillion also needs to be complimented for guiding Bindra to glory.
"The boy's performance will now put extra pressure on Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who had won a silver medal in Olympics last time [at Athens].