Sunil Gavaskar backs Prakash Padukone’s remarks
Sunil Gavaskar supported Prakash Padukone’s remarks following India’s failure to win a medal in badminton at the Paris Olympics 2024. It also marked the first time India had failed to win an Olympic medal since Beijing 2008.
Saina Nehwal earned bronze in London, and PV Sindhu took silver and bronze in Rio and Tokyo, respectively. However, in Paris, India failed to finish on the podium.
Lakshya Sen created history by becoming the first Indian man to reach the semi-finals, however he lost consecutive matches and ended fourth. In the semi-finals against Viktor Axelsen, Lakshya led in both games before allowing his opponent to regain control of the match.
“Making excuses is where our country will win gold medals every single time, so the debate around his assessment was more about that than looking without tinted glasses at what he said,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
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What Prakash Padukone had said?
Padukone stated that it was imperative for players to rise up and perform after Lakshya’s failure. He claimed that since the shuttlers have access to the necessary facilities for training and development, neither the government nor the players could be held accountable. Public criticism, according to Gavaskar, is probably going to have a greater effect than private criticism.
Player needs to take responsibility: Gavaskar
“If a player is not going to take responsibility for his performance, then who is? So what wrong did he say? Some say the timing was wrong, but it’s always better to say that when a player is searching for excuses and support rather than later. Yes, he could have said that privately in the changing room, but believe me, nothing has more impact on a player than a public rebuke,” Gavaskar wrote.
