MUMBAI: Former All England Badminton Champion Prakash Padukone said players should look forward to performing well during their Olympic campaign rather than concentrating on winning medals in London.
At the countdown of ‘50 days for Olympics’, Padukone, the co-founder of the Olympics Gold Quest said that athletes should concentrate on taking one match at a time, rather than thinking about standing on the podium even before reaching London.
“I feel all athletes should not think about getting a medal and should concentrate on playing well and take one match at a time. Work hard and believe in yourself and the medal will come,” said Padukone.
Geet Sethi said that post 2004, sports in India has witnessed a dramatic political change in approach by providing athletes and players support to deliver the goods. “I have seen a shift in the government’s stance and political will over government’s spending. There is a dramatic shift in the last five-six years,” said the former world billiards champion.
We will be facing the same shooters: Vijay, Sanjeev
The shooting contingent for this year’s London Olympics has a lot of expectations, especially since the Indian shooters have performed remarkably well in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and also during the Guangzhou Asian Games where the team bagged an array of medals.
Pistol shooter Vijay Kumar and rifleman Sanjeev Rajput feel that they would be facing known opponents and since they know the lot, a lot would depend on what transpires during that day itself.
“We play the same players. Now the expectation is high. In 2008, we won the gold, however, there is no pressure on us,” said Vijay Kumar.
“From the last two Olympics, shooters have got medals. This time there are 11 shooters who have qualified for the Olympics compared to nine in 2008. We have already won against the players who have participated [in earlier events], said Sanjeev Rajput who would be shooting in the 50 metre air rifle event.