Every day he’s spent in Paris, Abhinav Bindra has faced one question: about India’s inability to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
The country’s first individual gold medallist, here as a part of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission, admits he doesn’t have an easy answer. India’s six-medal campaign, gold-less, has left him with ‘mixed emotions’, especially after the ‘brutality’ of the Vinesh Phogat disqualification.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Bindra — who was awarded the Olympic Order on Saturday — looks back at India’s campaign, analyses why India lags at the Olympics, and why only spending money won’t guarantee India a place on the podium.
Excerpts:
Do you get asked a lot while you’re here about India and the inability to not win a gold medal?
Abhinav Bindra: I do. I do get asked almost on a daily basis how many medals, etc, etc. I’m also asked a lot about governance.
What do you say? Does it get embarrassing?
Abhinav Bindra: It’s been going on. There’s a whole aspect of overall governance, and perhaps in many sports, we’ve made improvements. Sports like athletics have been well run. Governance in Indian sport has been a red flag or an issue for so long now that you move past the embarrassment.
It (governance) is also an important aspect of growing as a country. We have not got double digits in Paris. So, what should be the aspiration for Los Angeles? Once we go home, there’s always time to reassess and study what has gone right, and many things have gone wrong.
Many, many things have gone well, what can be improved, and then put together an overall strategy to improve. And I think the whole aspect of governance is also important in this.
What does it take to win an Olympic medal? Is it only talent?
Abhinav Bindra: The Olympics is a very, very hard platform to perform at for a variety of reasons. But the Olympics is also a platform which is imperfect for performance. Because there’s external expectations, and you also have internal expectations, that just doesn’t allow you to let go. Performance sometimes is almost artistic in nature. That’s where you almost have to allow it to happen. And the ability to let go is very difficult.
So skill is almost thrown into the dustbin. Sometimes for most athletes, there will be a few who are just so great, but for a majority, it’s not just picking up your skill and trying to get things together. You have to almost find perfection on that imperfect day.
This is true for athletes from all 200-plus countries. Why are Indian athletes lagging behind?
Abhinav Bindra: I don’t have an answer, really. If I knew, I would put it out so that we can win more gold medals. When you put all your eggs in one basket, your self-worth is almost dependent on where your name will appear on the ranking list of a sports competition. I sometimes wonder how many of our athletes are in that bracket (where) everything is dependent on this. I have a suspicion that it’s a high number.
For me, life-balance is an important aspect to deal with stress, pressure, expectations, because toughness and sport also come from the foundation as a human being. And if the balance in life is not existing at a human level, it surely has an impact on performance on the field of play. What you do outside the field of play, I believe, has a direct influence on what you do on the field of play. Because we are growing, having more participation at a younger level, it is important to make sure that there is an aspect of a dual career. Maybe, we have to ensure that athletes are getting a basic level of education and that they’re building another skill. It helps them in life outside of sport and it also will have an impact on performance.
Prakash Padukone has said that athletes should also be made accountable. Do you agree?
Abhinav Bindra: Accountability has to be collective, and an athlete is very much part of it. So I don’t completely disagree with what Mr. Padukone said. I understand where he’s coming from, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop spending on athletes. It’s just you have to make sure how that money is spent. Yes, you cannot always wrap your athletes in cotton wool.
Does getting everything easily impact their hunger?
Abhinav Bindra: I think hunger is intrinsic in nature. As a nation, we also need to understand that money is only going to be an enabler. Money is not going to get you medals. It is blood, sweat and tears, hard work and resilience shown on the field of play, which will get you there. And hunger is a very important aspect of it. Resources being allocated is only a simple enabler, and you need it. I mean, how else do you do it? You need money for training, to compete, travel, for the larger performance support stuff. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a vending machine. You can spend more, you can spend less. It’s not going to guarantee you success.
Shooting returned among medals after two failed Olympics…
Abhinav Bindra: Shooting has had an improvement, and the athletes have done very well. I’m proud of each one of them. But when athletes go to a World Cup or a World Championship, you look at the medals rally, we are top-three, top-four normally. Now we’re not there. I don’t even think in the top 10 (14). They’ve done a great job. But I think sport is about constant learning and to see what better can be done. When you compare it with Tokyo, it’s been a resounding success in many ways, overall performances as well, not just medals… the way they’ve gone and approached it.
Looking back, would you be happy or sad with India’s medals?
Abhinav Bindra: I don’t know how I’m feeling. It’s been an emotional roller- coaster from an Indian perspective. I think the athletes have done well. We must keep that front and centre. We may not have won all the medals but overall, generally, you would agree there has been an improvement overall. We must consolidate the gains that have been made and work harder to get there.
The overall thing has been emotional. The brutality of the Vinesh (Phogat) case, we are all struggling with it still. It’s been a mixed bag. But the athletes have done well. That should be the focus.
How big a deal is it that Neeraj followed up his gold medal with a silver?
Abhinav Bindra: Incredible feat. I think we are all very proud of him. The Pakistani (Arshad Nadeem) is a worthy winner on the day, the way he performed. But I think Neeraj should be proud of himself. There will be a level of disappointment, which is fine, because that’s how the life of an athlete is. You’re not gonna get everything going your way, but he performed admirably. A lot of expectations were also on him. It’s not easy to be in that spot, but he delivered. Now, he can go back to the drawing board and reassess what needs to be done. Really work on how he can make the big leap.
