Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra on Tuesday blamed the system for the Indian contingent’s failure to open its account in the medals tally at the Rio Olympics.
Citing Britain’s example, the 33-year-old, who missed the bronze in the 10 metre Air Rifle by a whisker, said medals can only be expected if there is adequate investment on athletes in India.
“Each medal costs the UK £5.5 million ($7.13 million). That’s the sort of investment needed. Let’s not expect much until we put systems in place at home,” Bindra said on Twitter.
Bindra’s tweet was in reference to an article published by the British newspaper The Guardian, which described how the country was investing heavily in its athletes to achieve glory at the Olympics.
India is still waiting for its first medal even after sending its biggest ever contingent (118) to Rio. The country had touched a historic mark of six medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)