Abhinav Bindra stresses importance of Physical Education Teachers at Telangana Sports Conclave

Abhinav Bindra, Adille Sumariwalla, and other sports leaders at the Telangana Sports Conclave discussed the need for better sports education, grassroots talent identification, and the role of the corporate sector in Indian sports

Hyderabad: Beijing Olympics gold medalist and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra said that, unfortunately, in India, the Physical Education Teacher (PET) comes low down in the hierarchy of sports.

“This is disappointing compared to PETs who are immensely popular and respected abroad. Yes, they are the ones who are looked up to by the students when it comes to sports in schools and colleges,” Bindra said during a panel discussion at the Telangana Sports Conclave, moderated by senior sports journalists G. Viswanath (Mumbai) and Saba Nayakan (Kolkata), here on Saturday.

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“I don’t think we are a sports-loving nation but love winners in sports,” said Bindra, who signed an MoU with the State Government on the ‘Olympic Values Education Programme.’
“Definitely, for instance, with the CBSE introducing shooting across many schools, shooting has become very popular, and the number of participants has increased manifold in the Nationals,” he said.

On being confident ahead of a major event like the Olympics, Bindra said confidence depended primarily on the kind of efforts one had put in. “The kind of preparations, the positive mindset to compete with the best are the key factors. It all, again, depends on how you face the challenges during the ups and downs in a career, which are quite common to anyone,” he said.

World Athletics Vice-President Adille Sumariwalla highlighted how the Athletics Federation of India had unearthed someone like Neeraj Chopra.
“Neeraj was spotted during a National inter-district (under-14) meet in javelin. Then, he was picked for the National camp, mentored properly, and given the right kind of exposure at the right time,” he said.

“And, this National inter-district meet features 650 districts from across India, featuring about 6,000 athletes. It is a massive event that proves that if we take sports to districts, we can unearth talent,” Sumariwalla said.

Sumariwalla also felt that the corporate sector, with a few exceptions, failed Indian sport over the years. “I believe that most of them who question why India doesn’t win Olympic medals in large numbers should introspect about what kind of contribution they have made for promoting sport,” he said.

“It is the government that promotes sports at the grassroots,” Sumariwalla added.

Arjuna Awardee V. Ravikanth Reddy said he was against the concept of coaches becoming administrators. “This should not happen and certainly not be good for sports,” he said.