It is the ultimate joy in sports, to be part of the Olympics, the celebration of human excellence in its pure physical form. Winning an Olympic medal is often the defining moment in a sports person’s career, but capturing the moment for posterity is no less intoxicating for a sports scribe.
After the thrill of an individual Olympic medal for an Indian sportsperson, from inspirational interviews with tennis ace Leander Paes in 1996 and weightlifter Karnam Malleswari in 2000, I had a hint of what lay ahead, for Indian sports. They were champions who defied heavy odds. They broke the barriers to bury the negativity back home, where athletes were deemed to just make up the numbers. Winning at the Olympics had remained an unknown experience after the last of the eight hockey gold medals at the Moscow Games in 1980.
It was a rare privilege to cover the Olympics in its birth place, in Athens, Greece. Indian sports was in vibrant health. We had shooters with high potential, tennis stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in their prime, and of course Anju Bobby George ready to leap for an Olympic medal after having won the long jump bronze in the World Championship.
But the women broke hearts even as I came to terms with the enormity of covering the Olympics. Anju George leapt to a career-best jump of 6.83 metres and was placed sixth (improved to fifth after Marion Jones’ confession of doping). Anjali Bhagwat, the women’s world No.1 at one stage in air rifle, did not even make the final. World record holder Suma Shirur finished eighth. Olympics was different.
The belief was strengthened when boy-wonder Abhinav Bindra stumbled in the final. It was difficult to digest when Bindra said he had released 10 best shots in the final, but was perplexed to discover the scores were bad. “I am still in the zone,” said Bindra, after the final. I had no reason to doubt him.
Of course, the mystery was solved a few days later when Bindra’s coach Gaby Buehlmann of Switzerland found a hollow space, beneath the wooden floor at station No.3 in the Final Hall. It had led to a subtle bounce. Bindra’s suspicion that the floor was slippery made sense. It was pure Greek tragedy.
Bindra had to wait four more years but Indian sports made a breakthrough at Athens. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was a world beater in double trap and he put up one of the most stirring fights on the Olympic stage.
When Rathore slipped in the second round a spot in the six-member final looked to be slipping away till my friend (Vimal Mohan of NDTV) got his calculations right and alerted me that Rathore had actually made it to the final. On a bright afternoon, we had reason to believe that Indian sports history was ready to add a significant chapter.
It was a thrilling climax as Rathore came alive after “dying a hundred deaths” in that final to get the silver. Gold had been usurped already by Ahmed Almaktoum of the UAE with a regal fare and Rathore showed great character to claim a spot on the podium.
After hitting both the birds on his last chance, Rathore punched the air with a clenched fist, to signal the first individual silver in the Olympics for India. Most Indian eyes were moist.
Even in his moment of celebration, Rathore had the vision to pick Bindra as a future world champion. For Bindra, who witnessed the final despite enduring his disappointment the previous day, Rathore was “awesome”.
After the silver, gold had looked a distinct possibility when Paes and Bhupathi beat players of the calibre of Roger Federer and Andy Roddick in the early rounds of doubles. However, in the semi-finals, it was the German hurricane that blew over the Indian aspirations, with Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler asserting their explosive game.
Paes’ press conference was an experience. The Union Sports Minister Sunil Dutt called on scribe Sunil Warrier’s phone. Paes, handed the phone by the scribe, whispered, “Sorry, Mr. Dutt” on the line. Dutt was in constant touch with the athletes, even past midnight.
As Rathore had predicted, Bindra became the World Champion in 2006, and kept a low profile before striking it rich in Beijing, with a 10.8 last shot that resulted in a flood of tears for the Chinese defending champion Zhu Qinan.
It was Indian sports’ greatest moment. Bindra was fourth before the final, two points behind the leaders. He had a lot to catch up. We had our hearts in our mouth when his first practice shot before the final was 4.2.
The first thought was, “Oh God, why is Athens happening all over again.” But the boy was a genius. He fine-tuned his rifle within the available five minutes and had the first competitive shot of 10.7. It will remain another mystery in Indian sports, whether it was an accident or sabotage, his rifle’s view-finder changed so dramatically after the qualification phase.
All hell broke loose after that gold medal, as the ecstatic Indian media swung into action; almost everyone had a phone to his ear, talking ‘live’ on TV.
“I had climbed that peak, and found nothing over there,” said Bindra, the next afternoon over lunch, hosted by Manisha Malhotra of the Mittal Champions Trust. We were just a handful, including two journalists, and the hotel staff swung to give us great service once it discovered it was an Olympic champion dining.
The Chinese were very keen to take photographs with Bindra, not just in the hotel but also when Shanth Kumar of the Deccan Herald took him out for an exclusive photo shoot in front of the iconic ‘Bird’s nest’ and ‘water cube’, the athletic and swimming arena. I was privileged to be part of history as Indian sports stood liberated from the clutches of negativity. We had found the ultimate Olympic hero!
Bindra was a class act. I was floored as he insisted on paying the taxi fare when we went for lunch. Also, his gesture of carrying energy drinks for us on a warm afternoon even as we waited outside the Games Village to accompany him for the photo shoot. Bindra’s close aide, Dr. Amit Bhattacharya, who was the shooter’s shadow, friend, philosopher and guide, pulled out a ‘thank you’ card from Bindra, printed by coach Gaby. My name figured in the select bunch close to Bindra’s heart. I was floored again.
Some of my Olympics moments included Usain Bolt’s 200 metre world record. I had managed to get a glimpse of Bolt despite having run from wrestling to boxing, watching Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh ensure Indian medals that day. It was a fascinating exercise to follow the champions on the world’s biggest sports stage and Beijing had played a great host indeed.
As I explore London, the promise of medals from Indians has grown. It will be nice to be part of history again!
