HTLS 2021: 'Hopefully, Neeraj's feat will open up more pathways in Indian sports,' Bindra hails Chopra's historic gold
HTLS 2021: From one Indian Olympic gold medallist to another… Abhinav Bindra spoke highly of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's historic achievement of winning the highest Olympic honour in track and field for India.
From one Indian Olympic gold medallist to another… Abhinav Bindra spoke highly of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's historic achievement of winning the highest Olympic honour in track and field for India. On Day 2 of the 19th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2021, Bindra, in conversation with HT's Managing editor Kunal Pradhan, hailed Chopra's humongous feat, which saw the 23-year-old scrip a memorable chapter in Indian sports.
Chopra's throw of 87.58 meters took him to the top of the podium in the men's javelin throw, making him only the second individual gold medallist from India after Bindra had scripted history at the 2008 Beijing Games. For a long time, 13 years to be precise, India searched for someone to give Bindra company, and the retired shooter, admitted that seeing Chopra gifting Indian sports another moment under the sun was a monkey off his back.
"Weight off my shoulder to finally have someone join me. When I won, my first answer in the PC was 'hope this achievement opens doors'. I was happier at him winning gold than when I did. It was a monkey off my back. Wherever I went, people used to introduce me as the only Indian to win an individual gold medal it was interesting. Hopefully, Neeraj’s gold medal opens more pathways. We definitely need more," Bindra said.
Bindra, a decorated shooter, participated in a total of five Olympic Games. Eight years after finishing with a gold medal in shooting, Bindra came perilously close to adding a second Olympic medal but missed by an agonising margin, losing a shoot-off for the top 3. On the other hand, Chopra struck gold in his maiden Olympics. With a few more Games up his sleeves, Bindra had a word of advice for the youngster, highlighting the importance of co-existing with pressure, which Chopra should learn to embrace than attempting to shrug it off.
"The most important thing is pressure will remain. The one mistake athletes make is that they run away from pressure. The reality is very different. When you go to Paris Olympics stadium, pressure will be there. The human tendency is to resist pressure. But we shouldn't do that. It is about acceptance. Like Covid, we are living with the virus, as athletes we have to live with pressure. We need to co-exist with it," added Bindra.
"You will have to break down everything. You need to polish down on everything. If you focus on those small things and try to improve, then you will be successful. It's only the little things which take you to the top level."
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