WANTED TO QUIT OLYMPICS AFTER BEIJING: BINDRA

Former Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has revealed how he wanted to quit the sport after bagging a medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The shooting great also talked about how he faced depression after witnessing the greatest high in his career. “Absolutely, I think that during a course of my career, I had a long career in sport, I had many ups and downs. You know, it’s pretty ironic that my biggest mental crisis in my life came when I actually succeeded. For me, dealing with success was probably the hardest time in my life. Up until Beijing (when) I had my greatest victory, I had trained for 16 years of life with a singular goal and I wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics,” said Bindra in a YouTube interview for Mind Matters.

“One fine day, this dream was achieved but it created a very large void in my life. I think that to me, was very challenging. I was depressed and I was really lost. I did not know what to do with my life. That was probably the toughest moment of my life. My energies were depleted, it took a lot out of me to win. But more than anything, when you are goalless, you are listless in your life,” he added.

Bindra also opened up on how he sought professional help after witnessing a dip in his mental health.

“I reached out for help, professional help. But post my victory in Beijing, I actually wanted to quit sport and move on to something else in life. I decided that I will go on a 110-day silent retreat where I wanted to find myself,” said Bindra.