Olympics-The India Story
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105. Prabhjot Singh, ‘At Last a Silver Lining’, the Tribune, 21 August 2004, http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040821/saturday/main1.htm.
106. Emphasis is ours. Quoted in ‘A Sure Shot’, the Tribune, 21 August 2004, http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040821/saturday/main1.htm.
107. Rathore interview with Harish Kotian, 25 August 2005, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2005/aug/26sinter.htm.
108. Rajesh Mishra, ‘Officer and a Gentleman’, Swagat, October 2005, pp. 88–89.
109. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, quoted in Rajesh Mishra, ‘Officer and a Gentleman’, Swagat, Oct. 2005, pp. 88–89.
110. Emphasis is ours. Rathore interview with Harish Kotian, 25 August 2005, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2005/aug/26sinter.htm.
111. Rajesh Mishra, ‘Officer and a Gentleman’, Swagat, October 2005, pp. 89.
112. Faisal Sharif, ‘Indian Army Launches Operation Olympic Medal’, 4 September 2003, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm.
113. Faisal Sharif, ‘Indian Army Launches Operation Olympic Medal’, 4 September 2003, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm.
114. Col. Ajay Das, SC, Dir ALC, ADGPI. Email correspondence on 21 February 2008. We are thankful for Srinjoy Chowdhary for facilitating this data from the Army.
115. Figures from Col. Ajay Das, SC, Dir ALC, ADGPI. Email correspondence on 21 February 2008. We are thankful for Srinjoy Chowdhary for facilitating this data from the Army.
116. Faisal Sharif, ‘Indian Army Launches Operation Olympic Medal’, 4 September 2003, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm.
117. Figures from Col Ajay Das, SC, Dir ALC, ADGPI. Email correspondence on 21 February 2008. We are thankful for Srinjoy Chowdhary for facilitating this data from the Army.
118. Ibid.
119. Ibid.
120. Ibid.
121. Ibid.
122. Figures from directorate general, NCC, ministry of defence.
CHAPTER 11
1. There is considerable debate over Pritchard’s identity. Whether Pritchard represented British India or whether he considered himself a representative of British India is still unresolved. Hence Pritchard remains a liminal figure in India’s Olympic story and we thought it best to leave out his medals from India’s tally. The IOC archives and contemporary records that we could access do not shed light on his antecedents—whether he was an Anglo Indian (in the sense of being of mixed race) or an Anglo-Indian (in the sense of a Britisher who simply lived in India). Norman Gilbert Pritchard was born in Alipore, near Calcutta, on 23 June 1875, to George Peterson Pritchard and Helen Maynard Pritchard. He won the Bengal province 100-yards title from 1894 to 1900 and in July 1900, took part in the British Amateur Athletics Association Championships. He went to the 1900 Paris Olympics with the British team and took part in 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres sprints and 110 metres and 200 metres hurdles. The programme listed him variously as representing either England or British India. He won the 200 metres sprint silver with a time of 22.5 seconds behind the American Walter Tewkesbury, and second silver behind the American Alvin Kraenzlein in 200 metres hurdles. After competing in the Paris Games, he returned to India and became secretary of the Indian Football Association. Later, he emigrated to America and became a silent movie actor, appearing alongside stars such as Gary Cooper, Clara Bow and Ronald Colman. His most famous film was Beau Geste, in 1926.
2. For a detailed history of Indian soccer see Boria Majumdar and Kausik Bandyopadhyay, Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation (New Delhi: Penguin-Viking, 2006).
3. We have consulted most of the leading newspapers of the time for this book and not one carried a major story on Jadhav’s achievement on Page 1.
4. Jadhav, despite his achievements, always led a life sans luxury or well being because of the neglect meted out to him by the Indian sports authorities.
5. Rohit Brijnath, ‘Leander—leading the way’, 23 April 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4929784.stm, accessed 10 February 2008.
6. Rohit Brijnath, ‘He Doesn’t Surrender’, Sportstar, Vol 28, No. 20, 14–20 May 2005, http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2820/stories/20050514005800900.htm
7. ‘Saturday Extra’ in the Tribune, 19 June 2004.
8. Rohit Brijnath, ‘India’s Queen of the Runway’, 26 July 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3925857.stm
9. The Times of India, 23 July 1952.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Statistical indexes of all Indian athletes who have participated at the Olympic Games have been compiled at the end of the book as an Appendix. We are grateful to Charles Davis for providing us with these statistics. Without his help, it was impossible to give this huge corpus of data a manageable shape.
13. Gulu Ezekiel, ‘K D Jadhav- A man of bronze’ in http://sify.com/sports/olympics/fullstory.php?id=13538760&page= 2, accessed 12 January 2008.
14. The Times of India, 24 July 1952.
15. The gold medal-winning jump at London measured 50 ft 6 inches.
16. For details see, Gulu Ezekiel, ‘Oh Henry’, Sportstar, 17–23 December 2005.
17. Ibid
18. Ibid.
19. For details on Pinto’s performance see the Times of India, 21 July 1952.
20. The Hindu, 2 December 1956.
21. Ibid., 5 December 1956.
22. Interview with P.K. Banerjee, 10 January 2007.
23. The Hindu, 30 August 1960.
24. Ibid., 7 September 1960.
25. Interview with Milkha Singh, 28 November 2007.
26. Ibid.
27. Interview with Bruce Kidd at the University of Toronto, 25 May 2007.
28. For details see Gulu Ezekiel, ‘Gurbachan Randhawa—A rare Breed’ in The Sportstar, 8 April 2006.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. The Times of India, 31 August 1972.
32. Ibid., 1 September 1972.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. He won this race with a timing of 1.48.9 seconds. For details on this race see the Times of India, 16 July 1976.
36. Ibid., 25 July 1976.
37. Ibid., 26 July 1976.
38. Ibid., 26 July 1980.
39. Ibid., 28 July 1980.
40. Ibid.
41. For details see The Times of India, 29 July 1980.
42. Ibid., 2 August 1980.
43. Ibid., 29 July 1984.
44. Ibid., 6 August 1984.
45. Ibid., 8 August 1984.
46. Ibid, 10 August 1984.
47. Ibid.
48. Usha Sujit Nair, ‘Government and Sport in Kerala, India’, Journal of Sport Management, September 1993, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 256–62.
49. Rohit Brijnath, ‘Leander—leading the way’, 23 April 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4929784.stm, accessed 10 February 2008.
50. The Times of India, 5 August 1996.
51. Ibid.
52. Karnam Malleswari interview published in www.rediff.com, http://202.54.124.133/sports/2000/oct/05malles.htm, accessed 10 February 2007.
53. The Tribune, editorial, 21 September 2000.
54. The Times of India, 14 February 2008.
55. Gagan Narang interview in the Deccan Herald, 30 January 2008.
56. Akhil Kumar qualified for the Olympics in the bantamweight class at the Asian Qualifying event in February 2008. He won gold, defeating the Olympic silver medallist Worapoj Pitchkoom of Thailand and was also awarded the best boxer trophy in the competition.
CHAPTER 12
1. The Commonwealth Games was held in New Delhi between 3–14 October 2010.
2. In the absence of many star athletes who had withdrawn from the Delhi games the standard of competition in some events was modest to say the least. World stars like Usain Bolt or Yohan Blake did not make it to Delhi nor did Chris Hoy or Andy Murray or US Open Champion Samantha Stosur.
3. Contrary to expectations India just won a solitary shooting gold at the Guan
gzhou Asian Games.
4. India can expect medals in shooting, tennis, boxing, archery, badminton and wrestling.
5. Personal interview with Randhir Singh, 10 November 2010. He said the exact same things to the Telegraph reporter Anirban Das Mahapatra on 1 February 2009.
6. This discrepancy was noticeable across the media. I have looked at ten leading national newspapers and not a single one had the Indian Open as its first headline.
7. Quoted in The Telegraph, 1 April 2009.
8. For details see; The Times of India, 31 August 2011. First Page.
9. Quoted in The Times of India, Oped, 5 September 2011.
10. Ibid.
11. Patel even went on to suggest that had the bill been implemented it will mean a Joint Secretary running the affairs of a NSF. Quoted in The Times of India, 2 September 2011.
12. India beat Hamilton to win the hosting rights for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Montego Bay in Jamaica in November 2003.
13. Personal interview with Jacques Rogge in New Delhi, 2 October 2010.
14. Personal interview with Jagdish Singh, 6 September 2008.
15. Personal interview with Raj Kumar Sangwan, 8 September 2008.
16. ‘Inside India’s Fight Club’, The Indian Express, 24 August 2008.
17. Ibid.
18. His rustic yet pleasant statements to the media have endeared him to the nation’s sports fraternity. When Majumdar asked him a question in English after his win against the Russian world number one on his way to the Olympic quarterfinals, his candid confession was startling. ‘If I could speak English that well, I’d be doing what you are,’ he had retorted in jest.
19. Personal interview with Jagdish Singh, 6 April 2009.
20. There is a telling television commercial which shows village folk sitting huddled together in front of a television set operating on battery watching their local lad in action. This inverter advertisement is a pithy comment on the realities of Bhiwani.
21. The Hindustan Times, 10 April 2009.
22. Several pistol shooters suggested this way out to us on condition of anonymity. The only person who came on record was Samresh Jung, one of India’s veteran pistol shooters and one who had won the best athlete award at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.
23. For details, see The Hindu, 7 March 2009, also see The Times of India, 7 March 2009.
24. The Hindu, 7 March 2009.
25. Ibid.
26. The Times of India, 7 March 2009.
27. The Telegraph, 1 February 2009.
28. Ibid.
29. The Hindu, 28 July 2011.
EPILOGUE
1. Rohit Brijnath, ‘’The bitter half of the story’, Oct 27, 2000, http://www.rediff.com/sports/2000/oct/27rohit.htm, accessed Fab 24, 2008.
2. Conversation with Jagmohan Dalmiya, President of BCCI when the sting operation occurred (Kolkata: Dec. 1, 2007).
3. Kapil Dev’s name arose as of those players alleged to be involved in match-fixing, charges he denied vehemently in a cathartic interview with Karan Thapar on BBC World.
4. Bharatiya Hockey Monthly Bulletin, April 2008, http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/calendar/calbulletins.asp?year=2008&mon=apr&bkmark= Photo, accessed May 1, 2008.
5. Quoted in Ibid.
6. Ibid
7. ‘Operation Chak De: Hockey’s Hall of Fame’, video posted on www.indiatoday.com, accessed May 2, 2008.
8. Aaj Tak press release quoted in Press Trust of India, ‘Operation Chak De impact: Jothikumaran resigns’ (New Delhi: April 21, 2008).
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. The Hindu, ‘TV Channel Sued’, (New Delhi: April 22, 2008).
12. Press Trust of India, ‘Operation Chak De impact: Jothikumaran resigns’ (New Delhi: April 21, 2008).
13. Conversation with a senior editor with CNN-IBN (New Delhi: May 1, 2008).
14. FIH Secretary General letter quoted in The Hindu, ‘Indian Olympic Association Acts tough: Suspends IHF’, (New Delhi: April 29, 2008).
15. ITGD Bureau, ‘Operation Chak de impact: Furore in Lok Sabha’(New Delhi, April 22, 2008), posted on www.indiatoday.com, accessed April 30, 2008.
16. In addition, a selection committee was formed consisting of former Olympians, Aslam Sher Khan, Ashok Kumar, Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillay.
17. Sharda Ugra, ‘Track Record of Shame’ India Today June 21, 2004
18. Ayaz Memon, ‘KPS Gill is not the only exception’, DNA (Mumbai: March 12, 2008).
19. Vineeta Pandey, ‘Why a political head for sports?’, The Times of India, July 24, 2004
20. This issue repeatedly came up for discussion at the Olympic Legacies Conference at Oxford on 29–30 March 2008.
21. For most of his letters see; IOC Archives, ID Chemise 7334 CIO 3535 MBR-TATA-CORR, Correspondence de Dorabji Tata 1926–1930.
22. Vineeta Pandey, ‘Why a political head for sports?’, The Times of India, July 24, 2004
23. Ibid
24. Sharda Ugra, ‘Track Record of Shame’ India Today June 21, 2004
25. Ashis Nandy, ‘The Culture of Indian Politics: A Stock-Taking’, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 30, No. 1 (Nov. 1970) p. 58.
26. This for instance is the conclusion of Ashutosh Varshney in ‘Is India Becoming More Democratic’, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 59, No. 1, Feb 2000, pp. 3–25
27. See for instance, MN Srinivas, Caste in Modern India.
28. Ashis Nandy, ‘The Culture of Indian Politics: A Stock-Taking’, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol 30, No. 1 (Nov. 1970) p. 70
POSTSCRIPT
1. John MaAaloon, Flame Relays and the Struggle for the Olympic Movement, Routledge, Forthcoming.
2. Personal interview at Rajghat on 17 April 2008.
3. Interview with Randhir Singh, 17 April 2008.
4. Interview with Jim Yardley, 27 April 2008.
5. Rohit Mahajan, ‘Ah The Human Race’, in Outlook, 28 April 2008.
6. Quoted in MacAloon, Flame Relays and the Struggle for the Olympic Movement.
7. Jim Yardley, ‘China Says It Is Ready to Meet Dalai Lama Envoys’, in New York Times, 26 April 2008.