Execution of plans key to success in Olympics, says Rasquinha

Entrusted with the "huge responsibility" of drawing up an action plan for next three Olympics, former national hockey captain Viren Rasquinha today said not just planning but proper implementation will be key to Indian' athletes success in world events.
Rasquinha is one of the three sportspersons alongside Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand to have found out a place in the eight-member Task Force of the Sports Ministry.
"It's a huge responsibility because there are very distinguished people in the panel. All of us have to come together and work with commitment and focus if we want to see Indian athletes achieve something in Olympics," Rasquinha told PTI.

"What we need is unity among all stakeholders. There will be several challenges but we will have to keep a positive frame of mind. We don't just need plans, what is important is execution. Proper execution is needed for plans to become successful," he said.
Just days after the end of the Rio Olympics, where India won just two medals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the setting up of the task force, which will help plan for "effective participation" of Indian sportspersons in the next three Olympics -- 2020, 2024 and 2028.
Besides the three sportspersons, other five members of the task force are School Sports Promotion Board head Om Pathak, hockey coach S Baldev Singh, who runs an academy in Shahabad, G L Khanna (Professor and Dean of Exercise and Physiology at Manav Rachna International University at Faridabad), journalist Rajesh Kalra and Sports Authority of Gujarat Director General Sandeep Pradhan.

An attacking midfielder in his playing days, Rasquinha quit hockey at the age of 28 in 2008 to pursue management studies, a qualification which he later used to give back to sports.

Rasquinha now heads the Olympic Gold Quest as its CEO. OGQ is an NGO which supports best Indian athletes in their quest to win Olympic gold medals.
"We need to give support to our athletes. We need to ensure that merit is there at every stage. Then only we can can be a sporting nation," he said.
Talking about his new responsibility, Rasquinha said he has enough experience on and off the field to discharge the duty at his best.

"I have been in the set-up since 1998 when I made my debut for the junior national team. I have seen everything as a sportsperson and I have also been on the administrative side since 2009," he said.
Being the CEO of OGQ, which supports renowned Indian sportsperson like Olympic medallist shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, wrestlers Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, shooters Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar to name a few, Rasquinha's selection in the task force is always bound to raise conflict of interest issue.
But Rasquinha said he would be the first one to quit the committee if that was the case.

"Conflict of interest issue is something which played on my mind as well. But the terms of reference of this committee is not direct support to the athletes. It is a committee formed just to make recommendations," he said.