The Olympic Games Village is a unique place where athletes from around 200 countries come together to compete fiercely yet live in a friendly, warm atmosphere, creating wonderful memories for everyone.
I experienced this during my Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000. It’s not just about life in the Olympic Village; the essence of the Olympics is in the Athletes Village. You see stars like Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, and everyone is equal. That is the spirit of sports you encounter in the Village.
I have a favourite Olympic story from the Sydney Games. Anwer Sultan (an Indian shooter) and I were having dinner when we saw Venus and Serena Williams. Anwer wanted a picture with them, but I was too shy to ask. They agreed, but we didn’t have smartphones back then, and Anwer’s camera was in our room. We asked them to wait for five minutes while we fetched it.
When we returned, the Williams sisters were still there, waiting. But the story doesn’t end here.
We realised the camera didn’t have a film roll. We excused ourselves again and ran to get one from the photo shop in the Village. It took another 10 or 15 minutes, but the Williams sisters were still there, waiting and happy to pose with us. That’s the spirit of sports at the Olympic Village.
It is some experience to sit in the huge dining hall and watch athletes of different sports, different countries, sizes, and shapes moving around.
Life in the Olympic Village with over 10,000 athletes eagerly trying to get ready and be at their best is an exhilarating experience. It is a wonderful feeling to be there together, trying to reach the highest levels of human excellence and human endeavour.
I remember Karnam Malleswari winning the weightlifting medal (bronze) in Sydney. Later in the evening, everyone congratulated her when she returned to the Village. It was similar scenes when (Rajyavardhan Singh) Rathore won the (silver) medal in shooting in Athens 2004. Everyone was making greeting cards and writing their messages for him.
When I won in Beijing (2008) and returned to the Village, I was so hungry. I had no energy left. I was ready to collapse. I remember rushing to the dining area and having a McDonald’s meal. I also got many congratulatory cards, and it was a special feeling.
If you remember, in the Games newspaper that comes out every morning, I was put on the front page the next day. It was a little prize in itself.
In London (2012), I remember me and (Indian shooter) Manavjit Singh Sandhu missing the opening ceremony. There was a mall next to the Olympic Village. We went there to watch a movie—just the two of us in the hall. They did run the show for us!
Rio 2016 was a fantastic experience. My coach, Heinz Reinkemeier, and my physio, Digpal Ranawat, were there. Despite the challenges, we enjoyed great bonding and camaraderie.
Life in the Olympic Village is a high-energy existence. There is a sensory overload. You can get drained in that atmosphere. There are high-energy individuals. The gym is full. Every area is full of people. At times, it is important to find a quiet place and be with yourself.
It’s good that shooters will stay in a satellite village near their venue, far from Paris, instead of the Games Village.
Heading into Beijing, I was very focused. I had followed the process and wasn’t thinking about the outcome. I aimed to concentrate on executing my skills and living in the moment. With 60 shots in qualification and 10 in the final, I wanted to shoot 70 perfect shots, one at a time, doing my best with each.
I was satisfied and proud of my preparation, feeling that I had done everything possible.
Winning the gold was a significant moment for me and the country. It lifted a long-standing burden. For too long, we had been taunted that a country of a billion people had no gold. It was a breakthrough for Indian sports.
It gave belief to athletes and helped change the mindset of people on the whole. More than the athletes, people started to believe that we could win Olympic gold. Everyone’s aim went higher.
As a country, we have changed. Society has changed. Young India has much more belief that we can be the best in the world.
At the elite level, there is no dearth of support. There is too much support, which is wonderful. There are significant challenges, but there is significant progress as well.
Step by step, we have to focus on getting to the next level.
At some point, we may also hit stagnation. From 10 medals in the Olympics, which we are poised to cross in Paris, how do we reach 30 or 40 medals? How do we evolve to that level to match our overall progress as a nation?
That thought should take precedence after Paris. It is great that we are doing well at this stage, be it in the Olympics or winning the (T20) Cricket World Cup. We need to look at sports to build a healthier country, ensuring that young children get to play sports for a better society. Playing sports for the joy of playing, not just for excellence at the highest level, helps you learn values from sports and develop character. We have to ensure greater participation in sports.
Once we do that and have a very large number of people playing, it will automatically have an impact on the number of elite athletes. I can see that happening in shooting already. There is so much depth of talent. That has to happen in many different sports. That shift must happen if we are looking to bid for the 2036 Olympics.
Despite all the progress, we have a limited number of athletes at the elite level. No amount of enhanced budget can help us win more unless we have a bigger pool of talent in multiple sports.
Hosting the Olympics should serve as a larger catalyst for change for a more healthy, vibrant, and sporting India.
As told to Kamesh Srinivasan
