‘When Olympics come we are not preparing for success, we are preparing for failure... that needs to change’

Thank you, thank you very much.

•And I think even you would wish that more people are able to do that in future.

•Somebody has to pick the door open, isn't it…and then the belief comes in.

Well I really hope so. For me, this medal is for all my fellow athletes. I really believe in the Indian athlete and it should just give them the confidence that we can do it. I m hopeful, we'll have some more medals in Beijing, and definitely in the future we should win many more.

•But, tell me when Indian participants go to the big meets, usually we console ourselves by saying that we believe in the Olympic motto: playing is the thing, winning or losing doesn't matter. We've become a country of good losers.

I don't think that’s the attitude among the athletes. I really believe that the Indian athlete is very motivated and wants to win, and I think the Indian athlete has all what it takes to win. Sometimes in India, when the Olympics come, we are not preparing for success, we are preparing for failure. It's a matter of attitude, it's a matter of thinking, and that needs to change.

•In fact, if I may say so, just your gold medal did change that. All these boxers, Saina Nehwal, they’ve all got to quarterfinals that Indians never got to, and getting into a quarterfinal in the Olympics puts you in the gold medal contention, say at the Asian level, which wasn’t the case earlier. So you, in your own way, have made a difference.

Absolutely, our boxers have done exceedingly well. Akhil Kumar did amazingly well…

•Yeah, but the feeling that so and so, just...