Mumbai: ABP News hosted a special e-conclave 'Jeetega India’ yesterday (22 July) to mark the occasion of the Olympic Games set to commence from today in Tokyo. At this e-conclave, various honorable dignitaries from the Indian sports fraternity presented their views and expectations on the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
The ‘Jeetega India’ e-conclave witnessed a distinguished line-up of talented and successful Indian athletes, many of whom have previously won at World Championships & Olympic Games. These included P.V. Sindhu, Bajrang Punia, Karnam Malleswari, Gagan Narang, Yogeshwar Dutt, along with the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, C.A Bhavani Devi, National record holder and Tokyo Olympics-bound race walker, Priyanka Goswami, India's highest-ranked table tennis player and nine-time Seniors National Champion, Sharath Kamal.
The Olympics has the world's largest sports audience, and unlike other sporting events, it attracts massive viewership. ‘Jeetega India,' with its specific focus on the youth, opens up sponsorship opportunities for businesses wanting to interact with a wide range of viewers, the channel said in a statement.
One of the key objectives of this e-conclave was to encourage youngsters to pursue their sporting ambitions and contribute towards the growth of the sporting culture in India, it added.
Speaking about the e-conclave, ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey said, “The ‘Jeetega India’ e-conclave is the first of many programming initiatives planned for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. At ABP News, we are committed to practicing and exhibiting our journalism in innovative and compelling ways. Our aim with such initiatives is to bring the entire country together in supporting our Olympics-bound athletes and encourage more youngsters to step into the exciting world of sports.”
Winner of multiple Grand Slam titles, Leander Paes spoke on the e-conclave about how COVID-19 would have a massive impact on the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. “Due to a delay of one year, a lot of things have changed. Rankings have changed. Players have had to reinvent themselves, elongate their trainings and what not. For a 100 metre race, athletes have to wait for 4 years for just 9 seconds. But such is life and such is sports. We have to continuously adapt ourselves," Paes said.
Olympic silver medalist and World Badminton champion P.V. Sindhu revealed at the conclave that Carolina Marin from Spain is her top rival, who is not playing in the Tokyo Olympics. “It is unfortunate that Carolina would not be a part of the tournament. But it is still not going to be easy. This time the challenges will be severe as we are in a very unique situation. Every day, we will have a COVID test. Masks will have to be worn at all times," Sindhu said.
“I was an underdog during Rio Olympics 2016 but now everyone recognises me and thinks that if I play, I will bring back the medal. So, the pressure is surely there but I just want to play the game with utmost focus," she added.
Talking about the competition level this year, three-time Wrestling World Championship medalist Bajrang Punia said that most of the participants are very talented and would definitely pose a major challenge, "I would play every match like it is the final one," he said.
Olympics bronze medalist shooters Yogeshwar Dutt and Gagan Narang had a heart-to-heart conversation with Kapil Dev during the e-conclave. Dutt said with a lot of confidence, “Indian wrestlers are all ready for the tournament and are likely to win at least three medals."
