Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra started the year on a winning note, bagging the gold medal in the Air Rifle event of the Intershoot Den Haag-2005 Championship in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The Indian ace finished with an aggregate score of 701.5, ahead of A Moldoveanu of Romania (700).

The bronze was won by A Hansen of Norway.

This was Bindra's first major championship since his appearance in the Olympics last year.

The marksman's next assignment will be the World Cup in Korea.