I can read sportspersons' minds, says 'pop psychologist' Rajyavardhan Rathore

New Delhi: Union minister and Olympic silver medalist Rajyavardhan Rathore has emphasised on the value of mental strength in sports, and said his shooting career has given him the ability to gauge what is going on in the mind of a sportsperson in a competitive environment.

“Sports relate to the mind a lot, to a degree now that I can see sportsmen and know exactly what is going on in their minds to a large extent especially when they are in a competitive environment,” he said.

Rathore, 46, had won silver in double trap shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics. “The body language can speak volumes for what is going on in their (sportspersons’) minds, and how they target and how they meet their target. During the Olympics, when I was on television, they started calling me the ‘pop psychologist’,” he said.

The Khel Ratna awardee, who holds the portfolio of Information and Broadcasting, was speaking at the launch of a book, titled Mind: The Final Frontier at his office in Shastri Bhawan here.

Authored by Indian Revenue Service officer Ravi Singh, the book seeks to look into the powers of the human mind and the thought process to address issues in life.