Wednesday, July 26 2006 14:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Punjab: The Punjab government announced Wednesday a reward of Rs.2.1 million for ace rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra who won a gold medal at the World Championship in Zagreb, Croatia.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said that Bindra had brought laurels to the country and to Punjab. He also spoke to Bindra via telephone.

The shooter won the gold medal in the 10-etre air-rifle shooting competition scoring 597 out of 600 points.

Bindra got an automatic entry into the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the shooting event with his performance at the world championship.

Bindra will be given the cash reward at a function in Chandigarh Aug 6.

Bindra, the son of an industrialist here, had been a medal hopeful at several international events, including the Olympics. This was his first major medal at a world championship.

He was recently honoured by the Punjab government with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh sports award along with 123 other sportspersons.