Indian Express
22 April 2010
Chandigarh, India

Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra's foundation to work for underprivileged talented sportspersons
IME is important and Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra knows it. But there are few moments when no matter how busy his schedule is, sparing time for the betterment of the society does lift him up. On Wednesday, it was one of those moments for Bindra when he managed to spare time for the blood donation camp organised at the Community Centre, Sector 35, by the Abhinav Bindra Foundation in association with the Red Cross Society and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). “People of India have always provided me with their unwavering love and support and that is why I have always wanted to do something for them, give something back to the society. The set up of the foundation was a step towards that direction,”Bindra, who also donated his blood during the donation camp, said.

With an endeavour to support talented athletes through the Foundation, Abhinav said that he would do whatever possible to help talented sportspersons show their worth. “I want to help more and more people get into sport and that has been my biggest goal. And then there are few other important things like providing them with basic equipments. However, it takes a lot of funding to produce elite athletes or Olympics gold medalists and hopefully as the Foundation grows, we would also be able to do that. Right now it is not possible as we have limited resources,” said the 27year-old shooter.

Giving more information about the Foundation, the ace shooter said, “We have just Started the Foundation and our goal is to make efforts and serve the society. We may not be doing anything major at the moment but we will try to start with basic things and make a difference in somebody else's life,”said Abhinav.

To help those needy sportspersons, he said that the Foundation would welcome any Corporate Houses who want to come forward for help. “For the cause, we are seeking maximum support from everyone,” he added.

Meanwhile, his father, Dr A S Bindra, said that imparting education to children who are talented but poor through the Foundation is also one of the many goals.

Further adding he said that the parents of those poor children would also be involved in the project but they need to devote time.

“The Foundation is a backward linkage programme and we seek support from everyone,” said the senior Bindra. According to the senior Bindra, the Foundation would start its project from Chandigarh, the place where the ace shooter was born.