Abhinav Bindra questions Messi’s G.O.A.T Tour

new delhi: Olympic gold-winning former Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra on Monday criticised the manner in which Argentine football great Lionel Messi’s tour of India has unfolded, saying he feels a “quiet sadness” seeing millions being spent for “moments of proximity photographs and fleeting access” to the legend.

Messi’s three-day, four-city G.O.A.T Tour has expectedly triggered fan frenzy everywhere he has travelled.

It has also caused chaos as politicians, film celebrities, industrialists and officials have jostled to click pictures with him. In Kolkata this triggered a violent reaction from the general public, which failed to get even a clear glimpse of him despite spending thousands for tickets.

“...as his recent visit to India unfolded parts of it felt chaotic and left me quietly uneasy. It compelled me to pause and reflect not in judgment but in genuine concern about what we were really trying to achieve,” he wondered aloud in an elaborate post on X. “Millions were spent for moments of proximity photographs and fleeting access to a legend. And yes it is people’s money earned honestly and theirs to spend as they choose.

“Still I can’t help but feel a quiet sadness wondering what might have been possible if even a fraction of that energy and investment had been directed toward the foundations of sport in our country,” he observed.

Bindra, however, made it clear that he has immense respect for the World Cup-winning Argentina captain, who is one of the most recognisable and admired sportspersons on the planet right now. “I fully understand the economics of sport. I understand commercial realities global branding and the magnetism of icons. I do not fault Messi in any way.”