Frustrated Abhinav Bindra may call it quits

Abhinav Bindra, is contemplating quitting the sport, ‘frustrated’ with the attitude of NRAI.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: Decades of red-tapism in Indian sport seems to have taken its toll on the sportsperson as mutiny seems to be the order of the day. Barely days after the hockey players rebellion was sorted out after intervention from the IOA President Suresh Kalmadi himself, reports are abuzz that India`s lone gold medalist at the Olympics- Abhinav Bindra, is contemplating quitting the sport, ‘frustrated’ with the attitude of Indian shooting federation. For the past six months, Bindra has been training in Germany for the Delhi Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China. The National Rifle Association of India wants the 27 year old to turn up for the regular trials it conducts in India.In December, Bindra flew back to attend one such camp, which was later postponed. Bindra, in a letter to NRAI and the Sports Ministry, requested for permission to prepare for the events on his own, like he did before the Beijing Olympics, and excuse him from attending the trials. He requested the association to consider his international scores instead. A response is still awaited. “The present situation has me very upset and does not leave me with much motivation,: Bindra told a prominent English daily. What has bugged the ace shooter most is that this is not the first time he has run into some illogical bureaucratic hurdle, owing to a feud between him and the association since the 2008 Games. “I don’t see any chance of future success if I am not allowed to prepare in a certain way that has worked for me before,: signed off disillusioned Bindra who, during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, became first ever Indian to win an individual gold medal.