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Some of India's finest athletes congregated at yet another edition of the 'Beyond the Finish Line', a panel discussion held ahead of the 16th edition of the World 10K Bengaluru, scheduled to take place on Sunday.
Present at the occasion was 27-time IBSF world champion, Pankaj Advani, Ace Shooter Tejas Krishna Prasad, squash star Joshna Chinnappa, former international athlete and Arjuna awardee Ashwini Nachappa. Also in attendance was TCS World 10K Bengaluru International Event Ambassador Dame Valerie Adams. With the Paris Olympics around the corner, India's best shot putter, and two-time Asian Games gold medallist, Tajinderpal Singh Toor, highlighted the change in the mentality of Indian athletes and emphasised that the showpiece event in Paris will have a host of medal contenders from India. He said, "Ever since Neeraj Chopra's Gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games, it's brought a sense of self-belief where each one of us are not just going to the games to participate but we are going there to win a medal." He further added, "I think that's the shift in mindset today. We don't think of ourselves any lesser than top global athletes we compete with. Look at the results in World Championships, we had Neeraj and Kishore Jena finish on the podium. We also had DP Manu enter the final in the same event." On the upcoming inclusion of squash in the 2028 Olympics, one of India's leading squash players, Joshna Chinnappa, conceded that it served as a big motivator for the 37-year-old. "I think it is very exciting that squash will be in the Olympics, to be honest, it should have been there many years ago. It is definitely a motivator for me to really look after my body, choose my tournaments wisely, and train smarter to be able to compete with the young a lot. It is going to be quite an uphill task, but it is there in my mind," she said. While the athletes shared stories on their greatest personal successes, four-time, Olympic gold medallist Valerie Adams, opined that her bronze medal in Tokyo held more weight for her than her gold medal triumphs. She remarked, "When I embarked on my fifth Olympic journey, I had recently become a mother of two and nearly lost my life having my son, the world had also turned to a lockdown mode because of Covid. Despite all this to be able to go there, hold my medal and the picture of my children was emotional and exhilarating." The World 10K Bengaluru 2024 begins on Sunday with over 28,000 people expected to line up at the flag-off, looking to achieve their personal goals while exploring the city of Bengaluru along the way. (ANI)
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