I abused my passion for training, says Bindra

Bengaluru: In a way, sport is a mirror to the society. The vicarious pleasure that it gives is lapped up with little thought given to the one in the centre making all the moves.

With more and more athletes coming out speaking of detachment, depression and the toll on their mental stability, Abhinav Bindra called for better understanding towards the man in the middle.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Sports Law and Policy symposium on Saturday, India's only individual Olympic gold medallist was keen to shed light on the matter. Bindra, a member of IOC Athletes’ Commission, said: "The biggest myth in sport is (that) athletes are mentally very tough. Truth is, they are vulnerable. Continuous pressure to compete, to train and for success. Human side is not really looked at. It is important to look at it. There is a huge stigma, we are perceived to be strong and time has come to break that stigma."

The former shooter, with amateur golfer and The Live Love Laugh Foundation director Anisha Padukone and Dr Sanjeev Jain, professor at NIMHANS also part of the panel, added the role of the environment, coaches and the entourage as specifically important to give information beyond the performance.

In his role with the IOC, Bindra is doing his best to tackle the issue.

"Awareness campaigns, screening tools and a comprehensive toolkit of sports operations for athletes to use. We are working on it at IOC. Work is being done in the right direction. It's critical for athletes' well being," he remarked.

When asked if he would relive his career again, the 36-year-old - a highly focused and driven individual - was quick to deem his methods as not the most ideal.

"No. I'll never advocate the training I had. I was very passionate and abused that passion. I did not have a balance to it. This approach got me success, but it’s not the right way to do it. A gold medal is not everything in life.

"I was very good in training, but I really hated competition. I put all my eggs in one basket, and this led to a lot of anxiety. I used to shoot 5 points above the world record every day in training, but in a competitive environment, I was not the best version I could have been, which is a regret."

Later in the day, Bindra also supported an idea mooted during a discussion of trying for a Youth Olympics to India.

"If we can get the Youth Olympics to India, I think it will be great because it will make sure that there is investment going into the grassroots and youth level. It is also more sustainable to do as the mandate of the IOC is that you do not need to build new infrastructure... (No infrastructure has to be specially, they need only be in line with the sustainable development concept promoted by the Olympic Movement). It could be a step in the right direction.