Olympics is just a few days away.
As a youngster, Olympics was the greatest sporting event for me.
In 1984, I travelled all the way from Kerala to New Delhi to watch Olympic games being telecast on TV (TV came to Palghat in 1985).
My brother, who was a batchelor then, had promised to buy a colour TV by the time I reached there. Typical of him, he had not planned in advance. Both of us went to a local dealer of Beltek TV to buy one. But couldn't as the demand for TV was so high that he couldnt accede to our request. But he was good enough to give us a small 14 inch colour TV just for the opening ceremony. Then it was back to the dreary black and white. But for a teenager, the scale of Olympics being visually beamed was beyond imagination.
So many wonderful performers over the time. The genius of Carl Lewis going for 4 golds. The explosive power of Ben Johnson much later and then the disgust one felt when it came to be known that he had cheated. Who can forget the flowing grace of Florence Griffith Joyner and the shock on hearing Flo Jos untimely death. Was it drug induced?
I lived the dream of a perfect 10 with Nadia Comenici, the little gymnast and cheered. Ed Moses in 400 m hurdles was a true champion as was Sergie Bubka in Pole Vault.
Somehow the track and field have always held the charm for me. The first week is a bore with endless Swimming competitions followed by Diving and the stupidest of all, the synchronised swimming.
But today I am skeptical. Drugs have become a reality. I can't look at one athlete without thinking how clean he or she is. Hardly any one is. Win at all costs have spoiled and soiled the great event.
However, the games live on promoting the motto of 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' or 'Swifter, Higher, Stronger'
Another advantage of watching Olympics is that we have no stake in it. One doesn't have to worry about Indians competing for medals, as we never did. Hockey was on the wane after 1980 and there was little else to show for, despite the hype. What can you expect from a country who sends more officials than participants and believes in the motto 'Winning is not important, participating is'. What a crying shame!. And the same guys, Suresh Kalmadi and his cronies, have been heading Indian Olympics for donkeys years with absolutely no accountability. The story of athletes being given the short shrift at the expense of officials and sundries hold good even this Olympics. Certain things never change.
If my memory serves me correct, Rajiv Gandhi once asked his sports minister the size of the Asiad contingent. When she told him 392, he asked her how many Medals will India win. She replied deadpan that P T Usha will win a couple. To which he quipped 'Then why are you sending these 392. Just sent P T Usha and her coach Nambiar. At least tax payers will be saved of the expense'.
