CHENNAI: Wrestler Sushil Kumar and shooter Gagan Narang were invited by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development to discuss India's preparations for the next year's Tokyo Olympics and beyond on Wednesday.
The discussion was not just limited to next year's Games. The committee headed by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe listened to the two Olympians and their suggestion for improving sports in the country too.
"It was an honour. I gave a presentation to the committee about what needs to be done about our preparation for the Olympics," said London Games bronze medallist Gagan, who was on his way back to Hyderabad.
"We shared our experience."
The meeting lasted close to an hour with both sharing their views. "It was a nice experience," said two-time Olympic medallist Sushil. "We shared what can be implemented to improve sports. I told them that our athletes don't just want to compete but want to win medals at the Olympics nowadays. I also told them that we should not discard our old coaches. Instead, they should be part of our programme and assist youngsters."
Five national sports federations were called on Wednesday to present their roadmap for the Olympics. In a recent interview to this daily, Sahasrabudhhe had said, "The committee is evaluating the preparedness in general and then give some recommendations for immediate action to the ministry when we finalise our report."