"Sports Teaches You Friendship, Respect": Abhinav Bindra

Indian Olympic gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra talked about the impact of sports, saying that it teaches people friendship, respect and solidarity and can shape people while making them health conscious. Bindra, Italian shooter Niccolo Campriani and legendary Indian shuttler Pullela Gopichand shared deep insights into areas extending beyond the competitive aspect of the sport, like the Olympic Value Education Program, Refugee Project and Physical Literacy to spark the series of game-changing conversations in Trailblazers 2.0, India's biggest sports conclave.

Speaking of the Olympic Value Education Programme that the Abhinav Bindra Foundation has run in the State of Odisha, India's first Olympic Games gold medalist cited the example of schools' football tournament for mixed teams.

"The Olympic Values made such an impact on the community that as many as 63 of the 100 school teams were led by girls," Bindra said at Kolkata during the Revsportz Trailblazers 2.0 conclave.

He also spoke of how in a school, a bunch of children changed the rules of a game to be able to include a team-mate with a disability. "It is such transformation that warms the heart," he said. "Sport teaches you friendship, respect and solidarity and can shape people while making them health conscious," he added.

Campriani, who retired from shooting at the same time as Bindra and teamed up with the Indian star to spearhead the Refugee Project for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, said it came as a good opportunity for him to contribute to society and make a meaningful impact. "To see refugee athletes start from scratch and compete in the Olympics was good," he said.

Gopichand, whose contributions to Indian sport in general and badminton, in particular, cannot be undermined, said it was important for everyone to play sport and be physically literate. "Sport should not be only for a select few and just about competition or winning. We need to have the larger perspective about the mind-body connect."

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