HYDERABAD: Two-time Olympic medallist and Padma Bhushan awardee, PV Sindhu, on Thursday addressed about 250 All India Services, Central Civil Services and Military Engineer Services officers from across the country, who are attending their foundation course at the Dr MCR HRD Institute.
In her interactive session, the badminton champ stated that India has great potential to emerge as a sports superpower due to the availability of a large talent pool. “However, in order to achieve this cherished goal, efforts should be made at the grassroots level to inspire schoolchildren to participate in sports in huge numbers,” she said.
She said that parents, sports-related organisations and other stakeholders should make a joint effort to encourage children to take up sports at a young age, understand their aptitude, provide them professional guidance, and take care of their physical and mental fitness.
“Participation in different sports, practising hard and following dreams are more important than merely chasing medals,” Sindhu said adding that sports persons should learn to celebrate successes, take failures in their stride, and be realistic in setting their professional targets.