India’s first individual gold medalist in the Olympics, Abhinav Bindra shared a piece of advice to the Paris Olympics-bound Indian athletes aiming for podium finishes - To stay in the moment and have a flexible mind. Furthermore, Bindra emphasized the importance of athletes enjoying their time at the quadrennial event in Paris.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medalist in the men’s 10m air rifle event, Bindra stated that all qualified athletes have already made the country proud by giving more than their 100% across many competitions.
Abhinav Bindra was part of the meet-and-greet session organized by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Monday, July 1.
“I want to wish all the athletes the very best of luck. They’ve done us all proud already by giving it their all and doing consistently well over so many competitions. And now it’s their moment to shine on the world stage,” Bindra said, as quoted by Sportstar.
“I would just want them to give their best to stay in the moment, to remain flexible in mindset and just back the work that they had put in. You know, true confidence comes from the effort that has been put in over a consistent period of time, which I’m sure they have,” the 41-year-old stated.
“The Olympics is the greatest platform for sport in the world” - Abhinav Bindra
Before concluding his speech, Abhinav Bindra motivated the Indian athletes by stating that the Games would be the greatest platform for any sportsperson in the world. He added that more than 100 crore people will back them to make the country proud.
“The Olympics is the greatest platform for sport in the world, and the whole world is waiting to welcome them. The whole country is waiting for our athletes to do their best and make us all proud,” he added.
Furthermore, the two-time Asian Games gold medalist and Asian champion shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor was also part of the event. He stated that Neeraj Chopra’s gold-medal-winning feat in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 has motivated all track and field athletes to aim big.
Ace javelin thrower from Odisha, Kishore Jena hoped that Indian athletes would return to the country with its best-ever medal haul in athletics.
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