India heaps praise, cash on winner Bindra

By N.Ananthanarayanan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ecstatic India lavished praise and nearly $400,000 in cash on shooter Abhinav Bindra after he won the first solo Olympic title for a medal-starved nation.

Bindra, 25, won the men's 10m air rifle gold in Beijing on Monday to the disbelief and joy of a billion-strong country that has won just one medal in each of the last three Olympics.

The Sports Ministry is giving Olympic winners $70,900 each, while the cash-rich national cricket board will hand over $59,000 to Bindra as part of its campaign to back other sports.

His home state Punjab has given him $236,000, with more money coming from two other state governments and a state-run company.

In total, his gold has netted him more than $370,000, roughly equivalent to a company CEO's annual salary -- even though he comes from a wealthy family which has spent thousands of dollars on his training in the past 10 years.

Indian newspapers carried banner headlines hailing his win.

"Gold: One in a Billion," blared the headline in the Asian Age referring to India's population. The Times of India dubbed him "India's Goldfinger".

Hindustan Times put it simply: "At last", referring to India's long wait for individual glory with all previous eight gold medals having come in men's hockey.