India’s Olympic shooting champion Abhinav Bindra has urged sports administrators to adopt a more professional approach to help the country build on the three medals it won at the Beijing Games.

Bindra became India’s first individual Olympic champion after claiming the 10m air rifle before freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar and middleweight boxer Vijender Kumar added bronze medals to the tally.

Hundreds turned up to welcome the bronze medallists when they returned on Tuesday, with wrestler Kumar and his coach even given a celebratory elephant ride.

At a separate function, Bindra said he planned to use his new status to raise the profile of sport in India.

‘I don’t have any definite answers but it is a great opportunity to promote Olympic sports,’ he told reporters late on Tuesday.