Possibility of major changes remote, says Abhinav Bindra

Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has said the eight-member task force set up by the sports ministry to formulate plans for the next three Olympics has “made recommendations to the government” but implementation of its views “could take time”.

“We have made recommendations and it is up to the government to take a call,” Bindra said at launch of rehabilitation lab at a city hospital, adding there will be a comprehensive report for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics. “It is a huge canvas, it will take time to chalk out details,” he said on Saturday.

Bindra said an interim report has been prepared for the 2020 Tokyo Games, which will be submitted soon.

“Since there is hardly any time left to reap the benefits of long-term planning, the possibility of making major changes is remote,” the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10m air rifle gold medallist said.

He said elite Indian athletes would continue to train in the existing way in their build-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“Since there is hardly any time left to reap the benefits of long-term planning, the possibility of making major changes is remote,” he added.

Bindra is one of the eight members — which also has national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and former hockey player Viren Rasquinha — of a task force set up by the ministry in January to prepare an action plan for the next three Olympic Games.

The panel was set up after a contingent of over 100 athletes won only two medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics.