The words Refugees and Shooting are often heard together, but mostly in a piece of negative news. But in a new venture, Abhinav Bindra has collaborated with Niccolo Campriani to train three refugees.
Campriani and Bindra’s careers came to an end on the same day in 2016 but in totally different ways. While Bindra missed his Olympic shot by a very less margin, Campriani managed to shot a perfect one and won the third gold for his country.
Three years after that epic 10m air rifle competition, these brilliant rifle masters have come together for a good cause. They have decided to collaborate to nurture another Olympic dream. And this time it is for the three refugees. Khaoula, Luna, and Mahdi are getting trained under them to qualify for the next Olympic in July 2020.
Campriani is a five-time olympian and is funding this initiative through his foundation. He said. “I could put together all the equipment I needed through the donations, but I also needed some cash flow for other expenses. When I was exploring different options, I looked into the Abhinav Bindra Foundation. And then after talking to Abhinav and knowing the work he is doing in India, he proposed his help. That was the crucial part of the project”
Due to “security concerns” Campriani didn’t share much about the background of the three. Mahdi (22) was born in Afghanistan but grew up in Iran. Luna (25) is from an African country, while Khaoula (30) is from the Middle-East.
For a year till the event, Campriani will train them to help them score a minimum qualifying score that will make them eligible for the Refugee Olympic Team. This is a new team which made its debut at the Rio Games. The Italian rifle star is the front face of this great project. Bindra has mentored two sessions so far, will have a more behind the screen role. No matter what, this is a great initiative and we wish them good luck.
Keep doing great work you two 🙂