By IANS,
New Delhi: Shooter Abhinav Bindra, India’s only individual Olympic champion, took the athletes’ oath on behalf of the 6,700 participants from 71 countries and territories at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games here Sunday.
“We declare that we will take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the spirit of true sportsmanship, recognising the rules which govern them and desirous of participating in them for the honour of our Commonwealth and the glory of sport,” said Bindra.
Bindra, who won the gold in the 10 metre air rifle event in Beijing, was also the flag bearer of the Indian contingent.
Bindra is the fourth Indian shooter after the late Karni Singh (1982 Asian Games), world champion pistol shooter Jaspal Rana (1998 Commonwealth Games) and Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh (2006 Commonwealth Games, 2008 Olympics) to carry the Indian flag at a multi-discipline mega event.