Bindra, Gopichand interact with athletes at conclave

Abhinav Bindra, the 20o8 Olympic champion shooter, and Pullela Gopichand, the former winner of the All England badminton championships, interacted with aspiring Olympians and Paralympians during an Athletes’ Conclave conducted in Bangalore.

Speaking on their experiences and understanding on various aspects of their respective sports, the duo also spoke to the athletes about what it takes to succeed in sport.

The GoSports Foundation Athletes’ Conclave 2013 hosted the top junior and high performance Indian athletes across multiple sporting disciplines. The aim has been to provide for a platform which enables interaction, information sharing and inspiration.

“Victory is more than winning. Victory is never giving up, never losing sight of my goal. Victory is knowing that I will do whatever it takes to reach there,” said Bindra, beginning the Conclave which was attended by an audience of 83 athletes coming from different sports and from various parts of India.

Indian badminton hero Pullela Gopichand cajoled all the athletes into staying focused on winning and becoming a champion. Urging them not to focus on the negatives, he said, ” Dont look at the faults, the bad luck or the negatives. Look at dreaming of being a champion continuously.”

Johan John of Nike, noted nutritionist Ryan Fernando, eminent sports lawyer Nandan Kamath and journalist Sharda Ugra also held talks during the day.

source: Times of India