Abhinav Bindra: High performance programmes key to producing champions

Bindra launches a high performance leadership programme designed “to lay the groundwork for a robust Indian sport ecosystem.”

Abhinav Bindra...“Champions have to be built through systems and processes.”

Abhinav Bindra on Saturday stressed on the importance of high performance programmes for producing champions in a “structured and accountable format.”

“Champions have to be built through systems and processes,” Bindra, who won the Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, said during the online launch of high performance leadership programme organised by the ELMS Sports Foundation and the Abhinav Bindra Foundation .

“It requires a detailed and relentless pursuit of greatness. At the end of the day, when every athlete has been trained to the hilt, it is the small things that separate the good from the excellent.”

Talking about the high performance leadership programme, Bindra said it is an “initiative linked at creating advocates and architects of high performance sport in the country, laying the groundwork for a robust Indian sport ecosystem that continuously generates champions by design and not by chance. High performance sport is simply attention to detail in recruiting, training, and creating champions in a structured and accountable format.”

Importance of leadership

Over 50 participants from across India have been nominated for this course, which will be attended by leaders from the SAI, State governments, national sport federations and private sector enterprises. “High performance has been a possibility not just because of great athletes and coaches but also due to sports leaders. These leaders not only created an athlete-centric approach but also executed plans with perfection,” Bindra said.

ELMS Foundation promoter Vita Dani was also part of the launch. - M. VEDHAN (FILE)

“We need to innovate to meet the evolution of Indian sport and take it to a higher level of performance and success. This is only possible if work is done to empower institutions and people involved in influencing the way sport is developing in India.”

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, DGP Sports Authority of India (SAI) Sandip Pradhan, ELMS Foundation ’s promoter Vita Dani, and celebrated Indian badminton coach P. Gopichand were also part of the launch programme.

‘No collective national effort’

Rijiju said: “We just want medals and results but there is no collective national effort which can yield results... How will we move forward until and unless we have a course structured for athletes as well as administrators?”

Talking about the significance of the programme, co-promoter of ELMS Foundation , Vita Dani, said: “This programme aims to create high-performance sports administrators, who can lead and create one of the world’s best sports ecosystems in India. It is our hope that leaders passing out of this programme will become catalysts in India’s journey to becoming a global sporting power.”