Olympic medalist Abhinav Bindra hails the use of technology during pandemic

Indian shooter and Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra praised the ‘Odisha Model’ on Saturday. He talked about its agility in decision-making and using sport as a power to influence people’s lives.

“High performance is not just about getting 50 people together and expecting them to win gold medals for the nation. The fundamental lies in creating an environment around it and developing the culture of the sport.

“We will be able to improve our position on the medal tally in the Olympic Games or world level (tournaments) when we just have more people participating in the sport. We need athletes who join the sports for the sheer joy of it, that is when high performance will be a by-product,” said the 37-year old Bindra.

Bindra also advocated the advent of technology in the field of sports during the pandemic. “The use of technology has come in more quickly because of the pandemic. Otherwise, it would have taken five to 10 years.”

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Top badminton coach and former Indian shuttler Pullela Gopichand agreed to this statement of Bindra. Gopichand also said that the most significant impact would be on gaining back the confidence of kids and their parents to return to tournaments.

Create a positive environment

The 2008 Olympics gold medalist also said that human well-being of athletes is very important while seeking high performance.

“Athletes are busybodies. Sitting at home for five months is an extreme challenge, not just physically, but mentally as well. We have to create a psychologically safe environment for them because that is the core of high performance,” concluded Abhinav Bindra.

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