New Delhi: From July 26th to August 11, the world’s eyes will be on the City of Light. Paris is hosting the biggest stars of the global sporting firmament. The Indian contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024, wants to do better than Tokyo. A cricket-obsessed country, still savouring its success in the World T20, will display its thirst for medals, if only for a fortnight.
Ever since Rio 2016, it’s been India’s endeavour to cross double digits. 2016 stems from the fact that we won six medals in London. So you always look for better results.
News9 Plus spoke to iconic badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on the magic of the Olympics and his expectations from Team India this time.
“I do expect us to do better than seven medals. In badminton, we had one medal last time, a bronze. And I hope that we better than that. And I think we will. As far as in general sport is concerned, I think sport in the last ten years has seen a phenomenal rise,” says Gopichand.
The iconic coach, who has mentored such Olympians as PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, revealed the grind that goes into preparing for the ultimate arena for sporting gladiators.
“I think each sport is very different from each other and each champion is different from the other. So we need to kind of ensure that they bring out the best when it matters. And as Abhinav Bindra would say, ‘The Olympics doesn’t come every four years, it comes every day’. I think that’s the very essence of it, to ensure that you have great work ethic day in and day out. And that’s what eventually will help you win that medal. The entire emphasis is on ensuring that you have a process which is very good and is practised with regularity all the time. And that’s what an ideal preparation would be. Win or lose, one learns from it. And that’s what an Olympic medal would mean,” elaborates Gopichand.
The cyclical nature of Olympic sport means that the athlete has to peak at the right time for that crucial fortnight. “The Olympics arrive once every four years. So you have to be in the right fitness. You have to be in the form of your life. If sometimes you are unlucky, you could have an injury during that period. Of course, there is the amount of work which you need to put in. Also, you need to peak at the right time and also have the confidence, the guts, to actually grab the opportunity. I think just because Olympics happen once in four years and it’s a huge thing, especially in our country, nerves also play an important role. So I think overall it turns out to be a combination of good preparation and a bit of luck and how good you are mentally to grab the opportunity.
So, what does it take to win an Olympic medal? It’s a mix of perseverance, practice, passion and pluck, backed by a bit of luck. It is a routine of mind over matter, where you perfect the controllable factors and don’t ponder over the imponderables.
Watch it here:
https://www.news9plus.com/shortvideo/paris-dreams
It’s a mix of perseverance, practice, passion and pluck, backed by a bit of luck. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
