The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Great being with the best

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Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008
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Karnataka - Bangalore

Great being with the best

Kalyan Ashok

Former Olympians share their experience at the Games

Bangalore: U. Vimal Kumar, the former National badminton champion and National chief coach, was among the first set of Indian shuttlers to play at the Olympics when badminton was introduced as a full-fledged discipline in the Barcelona Games in 1992.

He carries fond memories. “I made it to the Olympics the hard way,” said Vimal. “I was 29, at the fag end of my career, and my world ranking was 28. I had to play a few qualifying events in Europe. As I was based in London, I was able to do that. But there was little support from the Association or the Government at that time and I had to dig deep into my pocket to travel all over Europe to make it to the Olympics. Later, the Badminton Association added Deepankar Bhattacharjee, Rajeev Bagga and Madhumitha Bhist to the team,” he said.

He lost in the first round at the Games but he enjoyed the rest of the Games. “It was a totally new experience for me. When we say global event, nothing can match the Olympics. At Barcelona, there was an overwhelming attendance with almost all nations turning up in sunny Spain. You were with the best in the world. At the Olympic Village, everyone was treated the same with the same food and same accommodation which was excellent. I got to rub shoulders with the sporting greats,” said Vimal.

“I dined with Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi at the Village and watched Linford Christie win the 100-metre dash and Carl Lewis winning a long jump gold. It was memorable,” Vimal added.

Lighter moments

There were lighter moments as well for the Indian contingent. “Deepankar Bhattacharjee was crazy about having his photos with the World’s greats. He did it so often that it annoyed our table tennis player, Chetan Baboor. So Chetan, who took the pictures, deliberately used to shut him off from the focus. When Deepankar posed with Steffi Graf, Chetan cut out Deepankar and shot only Steffi. When Deepankar developed the photos at the Village studio, he was furious and chased Chetan all around the place,” recalled Vimal with a chuckle.

Striking a serious note, Vimal said India has a chance of making it big at the Games provided we don’t put too much pressure on our athletes.

“There has been so much hype and pressure on our sportspersons, and they invariably fail. They simply cannot take it like the hockey team, which failed to qualify. Allow the players to have their space and let them perform,” Vimal Kumar added.

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