Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Proud moment

It was a proud moment for all Indians when Abhinav Bindra won the first-ever individual Olympic gold in the 10-metre air rifle event. The spectacular achievement will indeed provide inspiration to the young generation and help to revive Indian sport.

T.T. Aboobacker,

Malappuram

Abhinav’s accomplishment will inspire the current generation to pursue sport in its true spirit. It will also enthuse players to clinch more medals in the Olympics and other international games.

Md Taiyab Alam,

New Delhi

Abhinav’s gold medal win at the Beijing Olympics was perhaps the finest moment in India’s sporting history. One hopes the government will now pay more attention to improving our sports infrastructure.

Vivek Agarwal,

Lucknow

There could not have been a better Independence Day gift to the nation than listening to our National Anthem played at the Olympics. The image of the calm and composed Abhinav will remain etched in our memory for a long time. I hope his achievement will help sports administrations across the country to move away from their cricket-centric approach and look towards developing and investing in other sports. If that happens, it won’t be long before we make it to the top of the medals tally.

Shariqh Khaleel,

St. Paul, Minnesota

Abhinav has, no doubt, made all of us proud. But is this also not the time to look back at our decades of unsuccessful attempts in the Olympics? Isn’t it shameful that a huge country like India has bagged just one individual Olympic gold since independence? Are we capable of doing well only in cricket, which demands lesser physical effort? We should try to broaden our sporting horizon and encourage our sportsmen to do well as there is no dearth of talent in our country. The challenge for all of us is to nurture youngsters like Abhinav Bindra who can make us proud one day.

Harsh Raghava,

Vellore

While rejoicing over Abhinav’s victory, one cannot but compare China — which since 1949 has made it a single-point programme to translate the hidden skills of its people into top-ranking achievements — with India which has squandered away skills, talent and finances in bickering and nepotism to serve the ends of everyone other than sportspersons.

M. Rajaraman,

Puducherry

The calm and collected manner of Abhinav after the incredible accomplishment speaks volumes about the typical Indian tradition of remaining composed in glory and tough in defeat. An Olympic individual gold is very special for a country that has believed in individual heroism for centuries. The satisfying thing about Abhinav’s conquest is the fact that India has graduated to look beyond cricket.

Ramya Sundaram,

New Delhi

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