Olympian Sarthak Bhambri eager to take part in Commonwealth Games

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, May 7

Life is always challenging for Olympian Sarthak Bhambri – be it his knee injury or his father losing his job to the Covid pandemic – but trusting his abilities to overcome any situation is his key to success.

Bhambri, who was in Chandigarh to interact with schoolchildren, had represented India in the mixed 4x400m relay event at Tokyo Olympics. Bhambri said he was eager to participate in the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games starting from July. The interaction was conducted by the UT Education Department, under the ‘Meet the Champion’ programme at the Sector 43 Sports Complex.

“I was equally prepared for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which have been postponed to the next year, but was more excited about the Commonwealth Games. The Covid pandemic had hit us all hard. My father lost his job and it affected my routine and practice. Nevertheless, my coach worked hard to bring me back to shape and prepare me for the upcoming events,” said Bhambri, who now plays for the Railways.

He said: “My event is a mixture of team event and individual’s effort. While holding the baton, it’s an individual effort and after passing to a teammate, it’s a team effort. It needs more coordination and intensive training.”

While talking about India’s prospect of winning medals in the Commonwealth Games, the 23-year-old athlete said things were moving in the right direction and expectations could not be raised overnight.

“We have improved a lot in the past five years. I must give credit to the Central Government for making things happen on the ground for sportspersons. The perception of representing the country has now changed and the sportspersons get the needed attention in terms of getting modern training. If we talk about winning medals, we (India) are moving in the right direction. We did well in the last Olympics and hopefully will do well in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.”

While appreciating the Central Government, Bhambri said the state governments also need to contribute equal effort in developing a sportsperson.

‘Surprised… UT doesn’t have a synthetic track’

Meanwhile, Bhambri also bashed the local authorities for not having a single synthetic track in Chandigarh. “This is really bad. The local athletes will surely suffer for a long. This is a basic need for an athlete. The Administration should provide a track for athletes. In its absence, the future of athletes is surely been compromised,” said Bhambri, who encouraged the students to achieve their aim with a positive approach.

‘Meet the Champion’ project

Around 75 athletes will interact with 75 schools pan-India over two years and spend an hour with school students during each visit. The athletes will talk about the importance of “santulit aahar” (balanced diet), fitness and sports at a young age. These visits by Olympians will give school students an insight into their lives and what drives them to excel in their fields and explore.