Need to keep interest in Olympics alive: Bindra

Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra said strong grassroot level programmes and good facilities will help India achieve success at highest level in sport. Asked what measures need to be taken to attract more people towards other sports than cricket, Bindra said: "Cricket is a religion and will continue to be a religion, but that does not mean that we can't have other religions in the country. The most important thing is that we lack a strong grassroot programme where young people are encouraged, given adequate facilities and adequate know-how," Bindra said here on Tuesday.

Bindra stated that it is important to first define one's aspirations. "When the Olympics comes once in four years, we have a lot of interest few months before, a lot of interest couple of weeks after the event, but I think we need to find a way to keep the interest alive. I feel funding still needs to infiltrate down to the grassroot level," he said.

Asked what are the areas where corporate funding can play an important role in sports, Bindra said, "One of the main areas is infrastructure. We have to have a system in place and create an environment which allow young people to go out and play. We need to have facilities to create that environment. We need to empower our coaches and we need set courses which enables them to be best in the world."