Milkha holds IOA responsible for India's poor show in Rio
Source: The Sangai Express / PTI
New Delhi, August 09 2016:
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh
lashed out at the Indian
Olympics Association, holding
it responsible for the poor
performance of the Indian
sportspersons at the ongoing
Rio Olympics.
Milkha, who had missed a
bronze medal by a whisker in
the 1960 Rome Olympics,
said that the standard of per-
formance of the Indian
sportspersons has gone down
as compared to earlier editions
of the Games.
"True, we are not doing
well (in Rio).
In earlier Olym-
pics, we have done better,
winning medals, even gold,
silver and bronze.
The IOA
will have to take responsibility
for this," Milkha said.
"The standard of India's
performance (in Rio) has gone
down as compared to earlier
Olympics," said the octogenar-
ian former quarter-miler.
After three days of action
at the Rio Olympics, Indians
have still not won a medal
with star shooter Abhinav
Bindra missing out on a po-
dium finish by a whisker in
men's 10m air rifle event on
Monday night.
Milkha said the IOA
should call a review meeting
after the Olympics to chalk out
plans on how the country can
do better in the future Games.
"IOA should call a meet-
ing, inviting presidents and
secretaries of National Sports
Federations with representa-
tive of sports ministry and
plan out in which sporting
disciplines India can win med-
als in future Olympics," the
former athlete, known as 'Fly-
ing Sikh', told 'Times Now'.
Asked about Bindra miss-
ing out on a medal after a
tense shoot-off, Milkha said,
"The pressure did him
(Bindra) in.
He won the gold
in (Beijing) Olympics and he
must be aware that the whole
of the countrymen were keep-
ing their eyes on him.
It can
happen under pressure."
Referring to Dipa
Karmakar's heroics, Milkha
said that Indians were doing
well in some sports like gymnastics.