Abhinav Bindra won the first individual gold medal for India at the Beijing Olympics on 11th of August,2008. Its true he created history on the day by his shots. But do you think it was India's gold? Or it was an individual gold for the man. Was there any contribution of India in his achievement? Did the system help him groom his talent?
Talking about Abhinav, he is lucky to have a father who is rich and supportive in his unorthodox(according to Indian ideology) career aspiration. Abhinav has got a training area which includes a gym, spa, physiotherapy centre and his personal Olympic-sized shooting range. “I always wanted Abhinav to train in the best facilities. We had some help in the form of Mittal Champions’ trust but apart from that all his expenses have been paid by us. The government has never supported Abhinav and he is very particular about not begging for sponsorship,” says Abhinav’s mother Babli Bindra, who was a national softball player.
What do you think can an Indian win a gold medal at the Olympics, given the current system keeps on working the same way? How many Indians can afford to create personal facilities like Abhinav's parents did for him? (given the per capita income of an Indian is around Rs.42,000) Please post your opinions.
