India is ready for the Olympic. The country should not be complacent few months before the biggest sports event and Former Olympians have said this should be an on-going effort.
This was a panel discussion titled “Olympic Games In India: The Road Beyond Rio”. It took place at a city hotel on Friday evening.
Hockey legend Gurbux Singh, who was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics and the bronze medal at the 1968 Olympics. Emphasized on instilling sports culture in the youth as well as in All have sports facilities and venues of importance.
“We woke up when the Olympics came. The entire country woke up. This attitude has to change,” he was quoted as saying by Parami News.
Singh believes Indian men’s hockey team will have to endure some tough games in ‘tough pool’ Paris Olympics. “We are in a difficult group and our first goal should be to secure a place in the semi-finals.”
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar finished fourth in the vault event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She called upon every young girl to turn her weaknesses into strengths. She advised them to fight any kind of disparity they may face and strive for honor for their motherland.
Kamaka Arjuna Award winner added: “After finishing fourth I told Bisweswar Nandy sir how do I handle so much trust put unto me, so many expectations from tens of Millions of our countrymen?
“I literally saw how ecstatic and amazing people’s reactions were when I arrived. I still recall every word that Prime Minister Modi had about my performance, this inspired me,” she explained.
Famous Indian heptathlete Soma Biswas believes winning an Olympic medal is now a more realistic dream for Indian athletes. “Earlier you had to think about becoming an Olympian but now it is all about mind shift to win an Olympic medal.”
Commonwealth Chess Championship champion Praveen Tipsee cited the example of Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand and said: “When Anand became the champion. He inspired people like Surya Sekhar. With young talents like Ganguly, the tradition continues.
He also commented on the inclusion of chess in future Olympics saying “they (International Olympic Committee) have their own standards. To include chess in the Olympics in the future…the administrators must act.”
