Here is why Abhinav Bindra is truly India's only Olympic ambassador
India's lone Olympic gold winner Abhinav Bindra, in a great show of solidarity, traveled to Azerbaijan to support the Indian contingent fighting for quota places to Rio. Proving true to his Olympic Ambassador role, Bindra did not shy away from asking the boxing authorities to clean up their mess.
Abhinav Bindra may be the only Olympic goodwill ambassador of the lot who takes his role seriously. While actor Salman Khan, who is promoting his film 'Sultan', has tweeted on and off about the Olympic athletes, Sachin Tendulkar and A R Rahman have been largely inconspicuous–at least until now. It is a different matter that Bindra does not truly get the appreciation that he deserves from our nation.
Off to Baku.
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) June 17, 2016
Went to cheer for our boxers at their Olympic qualifying comp in Baku. They are all champions ! #roadtorio pic.twitter.com/SRP6BnHM88
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) June 19, 2016
Going one more step further, Bindra requested the boxing authorities to clean up the mess that Indian boxing is in. Indian boxing has been in administrative turmoil since 2012 after the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation was terminated for manipulating elections. Although a new body called Boxing India came to govern the sport in the country, a rift between state units forced AIBA to dissolve the federation in 2014. With no boxing federation, India’s representation in boxing at the quadrennial event has fallen from eight to one.
In fact, without the federation, Indian boxers have been deprived of the ultimate glory every sportsperson craves–to represent one's country and see the national flag flutter as you receive your medal. Denied the honor by silly infighting, Indian boxers have been sadly fighting under the AIBA flag.
Appeal to the powers that be to fix matters with federation immediately so that these champions get what they so truly deserve.
— Abhinav Bindra (@Abhinav_Bindra) June 19, 2016
India's head boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu was full of praise for the shooter and said, "He (Bindra) saw all the bouts and was there for the whole session. He personally came over to congratulate Sumit (Sangwan) after he won his bout and spent time with all the squad members and spoke to them individually," reported PTI.
Sandhu also added, "He reached Baku only yesterday and immediately got in touch with us. That he came and sat for the entire session, it was a wonderful gesture on his part.
"In fact even before he had left for Baku he had told us that he would come over and spent time with the boxers," reported PTI.
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