Assess yourself every moment: Abhinav Bindra to Paris-bound athletes

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, July 1

Beijing Olympics gold medallist in shooting Abhinav Bindra today motivated members of the Indian athletics contingent for the Paris Olympics.

At an event organised by a private bank to felicitate the Paris-bound athletes, Bindra said he didn’t want them to try his ‘tactics’ on handling the pressure. In an old interview, the shooter had admitted taking the miniatures of a famous Tennessee whiskey a night before he won gold for India. “A big no to this,” said Bindra while laughing.

When asked how he would like to motivate the athletes, he said, “We did very well in the Tokyo Olympics and I have a lot of hopes for the coming event. Things have changed now and our athletes are performing well. We are going to have the largest contingent in athletics, which is another milestone for us.”

While sharing his experience with the athletes, Bindra claimed the Olympics is a ‘funny’ experience which is to be lived seriously. “I remember, during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, I was having lunch with my roommate Anwer Sultan when we saw Willam sisters (Serena and Venus) at the same spot. We wanted to have a memorable picture with them but we didn’t have a camera. We requested them to wait and rushed towards our room to bring the camera. As we stood together, Sultan realised that there’s no film in the camera. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. Nevertheless, stubbornly, we again requested them. Sultan finally managed to bring a new film, and the 30-minute hassle came to an end,” shared Bindra.

“In Olympics village, you (the athletes) are going to witness some unexpected moments. However, you have to stay strong, aim better and assess yourself every moment,” he said.

The event was attended by officials of the Athletics Federation of India. Adille J Sumariwalla, president, Athletics Federation of India, said “The journey to Paris is a result of collective efforts and hard work. We are confident that our athletes will bring home laurels. The Indian athletes have raised their standards and it is clearly visible in the number of our athletes qualifying for the Paris Olympics.”

Top athletes, including Parul Chaudhaury (track and field), Annu Rani (javelin), Jyothi Yarraji (hurdles), Jeswin Aldrin (long jump), Praveen Chithravel (triple jump), Tajinderpal Singh Toor (shot put), Kishore Jena (javelin thrower) and others were present at the event.