Frustrated by the attitude of india's shooting federation, India's first Olympic individual gold medallist, shooter Abhinav Bindra may call it quits.Speaking to a leading national daily, Bindra said the way the governing body National Rifle Association of India was handling the sport, there might be no future in the sport for him.
"I'm not saying I don't want to be accountable. I will go to international competitions and my scores there can be monitored," Bindra said."The present situation has me very upset and does not leave me with much motivation," he said."I don't see any chance of future success if I'm not allowed to prepare in a certain way that has worked for me and is what my professional team and I have planned," he added.
Bindra, who has been training abroad for six months for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the Asian Games in China later this year, has been asked by the NRAI to turn up for regular trials in India, irrespective of his international results.Last December, Bindra had to come back from Germany to attend one such trial but it was postponed at the last moment. He wrote to the NRAI and Sports Ministry asking that he be allowed to prepare in a manner similar to his run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. So far, he's got no response.
People close to Bindra said he has run into rigid, illogical protocol several times. They also felt that he was seriously thinking about quitting.His father AS Bindra told NDTV: "My son is feeling low and is planning to quit. It is better that he quits than confront the rifle association."
Senior Bindra further said the only way out now is to allow the shooter to train the way he wants."If the country wants him to compete then the way out is to let him train. He is training with the support of the Sports Ministry. They know his every movement. His international scores should be considered for selection," he said.
Abhinav also wanted to participate in the Commonwealth shooting championships, which starts February 17 in Delhi, but the federation has not allowed him to take part.He recently shot 596 (equal to his Beijing score) in Riac Cup in Luxembourg. He has shot a series of world level scores in recently in European circuit.
Bindra, who has been training abroad for six months for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the Asian Games in China later this year, has been asked by the NRAI to turn up for regular trials in India, irrespective of his international results.Last December, Bindra had to come back from Germany to attend one such trial but it was postponed at the last moment. He wrote to the NRAI and Sports Ministry asking that he be allowed to prepare in a manner similar to his run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. So far, he's got no response.
People close to Bindra said he has run into rigid, illogical protocol several times. They also felt that he was seriously thinking about quitting.His father AS Bindra told NDTV: "My son is feeling low and is planning to quit. It is better that he quits than confront the rifle association."
Senior Bindra further said the only way out now is to allow the shooter to train the way he wants."If the country wants him to compete then the way out is to let him train. He is training with the support of the Sports Ministry. They know his every movement. His international scores should be considered for selection," he said.
Abhinav also wanted to participate in the Commonwealth shooting championships, which starts February 17 in Delhi, but the federation has not allowed him to take part.He recently shot 596 (equal to his Beijing score) in Riac Cup in Luxembourg. He has shot a series of world level scores in recently in European circuit.
0 comments:
Post a Comment