Abhinav Bindra selected as torchbearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics

NEW DELHI: India's first individual gold medallist at the Olympic Games, Abhinav Bindra has been selected as a torch bearer for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games to be held in the French capital from July 26 to August 11.

Bindra, who won gold in the men's 10m air rifle in the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, will be part of the Olympic torch relay that will be held from April 16 to July 26.

"Excited to share that I’ll be a torch bearer for the @paris2024 Olympic Games, a beacon of peace and perseverance across the globe. This flame represents our collective spirit and the power of dreams. A great privilege and honour!" Bindra said in a post on his Instagram handle.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay will start its journey in France on 8 May 2024 with the flame arriving in Marseille ahead of 68 days of travel across the French territories.

The torch relay will last 68 days during which it will cover 65 territories including five overseas territories. The relay will involve 10,000 torch bearers, including 3000 torch bearers who will participate in Team Relays, and will visit 400 cities.

The torch will be lit near Olympia in Greece and will have an initial journey in the country which started the ancient Olympics. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the route of the Olympic flame will start its journey on sea, on board the Belem, a magnificent three-masted ship that will cross the Mediterranean from Athens to Marseille.

The Olympic Torch Relay will then showcase the regions of France, from the mainland to its overseas departments and territories, offering everyone the opportunity to see the torch. The torch bearers were selected through an elaborate process which started on June 1, 2023.

Bindra is also a member of the Athletes Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).