'Making excuses is where our country will win gold medals' - Sunil Gavaskar's blunt take on India's disappointing performance in Paris Olympics 2024

The Paris Olympics 2024 campaign was highly disappointing for India as they managed to win only five bronze medals and one silver medal despite having 117 participants. The athletes' performance was pretty mediocre compared to the others, and the reason behind this isn't apparent to anyone. Even though the best facilities were provided to the athletes, they were still knocked out of the tournament or finished in the fourth position. 

Discussing this matter, former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar took a jibe at the athletes and wrote in the Sportstar column, "It also stirred up a debate where the majority tried, as is the modern way, to take the side of a current would-be champion and not that of a past-proven world champion. Making excuses is where our country will win gold medals every single time, so the debate around his assessment was more about that than looking without tinted glasses at what he said."

Gavaskar favoured former Badminton champion Prakash Padukone, who lashed out at the athletes after they failed to perform in the Olympics. It came primarily after badminton star Lakshya Sen exited the Olympics after losing in the Bronze medal match. He was brilliant throughout the entire tournament but failed to perform in the semi-final and the Bronze medal match. Several other players' medal hopes ended as they finished in the fourth position for various reasons. 

Also Read: Prakash Padukone asks athletes to put up better show, backs government's efforts at Paris Olympics 2024

Concentration and focus are things that no coach or trainer can ever teach: Sunil Gavaskar

After analyzing Lakshya Sen's matches in the semi-final and bronze medal match, Sunil Gavaskar pointed out one important thing that was quite evident. Sen lacked both concentration and focus which is the most important thing during any game. Gavaskar rightly said that no coach can teach these, as the athletes should be aware of them on their own. 

"Concentration and focus are things that no coach or trainer can ever teach. It can be developed over the years by the athlete by observing other champions and having an inner resolve, but there's no specific programme for it. Yes, mind trainers are around, but they can only do so much and not more. It's got to be within the athlete," wrote Sunil Gavaskar.