Returning home to a tumultuous welcome after becoming India's first individual Olympic gold medalist, shooter Abhinav Bindra on Thursday expressed hope that his feat would bring about a positive change in the mindset of Indian sports and make winning a habit.
Dedicating his medal to the fellow athletes, Bindra asked them to believe that scaling the summit "is a possibility and they should bring many more laurels to the country."
Bindra, who had a series of meetings with President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee (pictured), was however told that "winning mere one gold does not reflect the expectation" of a billion people.
After a 20-minute meeting with President Patil, Bindra said Olympic sports should be given top priority to make India a truly sporting nation.
While the entire top leadership paid glowing tributes to Bindra, the Vice President told him that "winning mere one gold medal does not reflect the expectation of a vast population like us."
He said Bindra's success proves that if the support of the family and the government along with zeal are there this could lead the country to sure success in sports.
The Prime Minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur congratulated the gold medal winning Olympian and presented bouquet and mementoes to him.