Revision as of 10:40, 31 July 2016

Antwerp Games, 1920: Funding

Sources:

1. From the archives of The Times of India: 2008: Ronojoy Sen

2. Book: The India Story by Boria Majumdar and Nalin Mehta

Tata’s Olympic safari

There is hardly anyone who hasn’t heard of Jamshedji Tata. But few remember his elder son Dorab. To this Tata goes the credit of starting the Olympic movement in India. Dorab Tata was mostly educated in England and his interest in sport was a result of his Western upbringing.

In the 1880s and ’90s, Dorab Tata was active in organising school and college cricket in Bombay. He then became involved with the Deccan Gymkhana where he was nominated president. The committee, which ran the Gymkhana, was not conversant with the details of managing athletic meets on European lines and wanted to develop their sports programme more in line with established Indian traditions.

At the first athletic meet the Gymkhana organised, Dorab Tata discovered that the competitors were “all boys of the peasant class working in the fields and living off poor fare”. Naturally they had no idea of European rules or modern training of any kind. Dorab Tata found that the competitors were proposing to run their 100-yard heats round a bend without strings. This was because their sports ground was very small and the track was part of a rough unrolled grass field.

O t h e r p o p u l a r events included the long distance race of about 25 miles. The peasants who participated were used to running barefoot on hard macadamised or dirt roads. Despite their lack of training and primitive conditions, the first three or four men ran the distance in good time. Dorab Tata felt that their time compared well with those in Europe or elsewhere. In 1919, some of their times were close to the times clocked in the Olympics.

Suitably impressed, the Tata scion decided to send three of the runners, at his own expense, to the Antwerp Games of 1920. Later he wrote a letter to IOC president Count Baillet Latour explaining his motives: “I therefore offered to arrange for the sending of three of the best runners to Antwerp to run the Olympic marathon at the next meeting, when I hoped that with proper training and food under English trainers and coaches they might do credit to India.”

Ultimately six or seven athletes from India proceeded to Antwerp with Dorab Tata bearing a bulk of the cost, which was estimated to be Rs 35,000. Dorab, however, only visited Antwerp briefly. Suffering from poor health, he could not find time to see the Games or meet the Indian contingent.

Thus began India’s eventful Olympic journey.

Olympic medallists: rewards from the private sector

INDIA’S LONDON CHAMPS: ONE YEAR LATER

THE DIMINISHING BRAND

Olympic Medallists Rue Lukewarm Response From India Inc

Biju Babu Cyriac | TNN

The Times of India 2013/08/07

While the Olympic medallists have got decent monetary rewards, mostly from the government sector, many endorsement offers were supposed to come their way as top corporates showed interest. But a year later, they did not materialize, and at least the Andhra Pradesh government is yet to hand over promised land and awards of Rs 50 lakh each to Narang and Saina Nehwal.

For some, a job promotion hasn’t happened while some await promised financial rewards. The euphoria following India’s improved performance in London — where the country won two silver medals and four bronze — may have lasted for months but it wasn’t enough to convince corporate to make a move away from the cricketers.

Although several offers were made, most of them fell through at the negotiation stage. “Even in the case of Saina Nehwal, most of her endorsement offers came before the Olympics. She hasn't got any big deals for winning the bronze medal in London. Maybe Mary Kom, bronze winner in women’s boxing, has got one or two offers but in all these cases the figures quoted may not be true. Even if they have signed for free, they will quote a high figure to float the brand,” sources told TOI.

Dismayed at the turn of events, athletes are now wondering whether India's corporates will ever come around to promoting Olympic sports.

IOA GOES BACK ON PROMISE

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has gone back on its promise that money raised through sponsors for the London Games would go only to athletes. The association has now decided that all the officials who travelled to London too deserve princely sums!

“The IOA raised a total of Rs 3.25 crores from five companies in sponsorship money and then-president VK Malhotra had promised that all the money will go only to the 83 athletes (approx 3.92 lakh each) who represented India. But they have not done that as IOA officials decided to grant an allowance of Rs 50,000 to coaches and support staff. This meant athletes who toiled got much less than promised,” sources said.

VIJAY KUMAR

(Silver; Shooting, Men's 25m rapid fire pistol)

The Army shooter competed in London without any expectations of a medal and returned home after bagging the silver in an exciting duel against Leuris Pupo of Cuba and Ding Feng of China, who settled for the bronze. Vijay's Olympic glory got him on par with Athens silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, with the Army promising to explore ways to make him a commissioned officer. The subsequent financial rewards ran into crores.

REWARDS: Rs 1 crore (HP govt), 3 kg gold (Sahara), 50 lakh (Rajasthan govt), Rs 30 lakh (sports ministry), 30 lakh (defence ministry), Rs 20 Lakh (NRAI).

SUSHIL KUMAR

(Silver; Wrestling, Men's freestyle 66kg)

Already basking in the glory of the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008, Sushil raised the bar further with another stunning performance last August — this time a glittering silver. The Delhi grappler is not the one who will sit on his laurels and returned to rigorous training soon after. He is now eyeing further glory at the Rio Games in 2016.

REWARDS: Rs 2 crore (Delhi govt), Rs 1.5 cr (Haryana govt), Rs 75 lakh (Railways), 3kg gold (Sahara), Rs 30 lakh (sports ministry). Land from Haryana govt for academy.

YOGESHWAR DUTT

(Bronze; Wrestling, men's freestyle 60kg)

The real surprise of the Games, Dutt repeated Sushil’s feat by grabbing bronze after climbing his way up through repechage. A year later the new hero of wrestling is nursing an injury that has forced him out of the world championships.

REWARDS: Rs 1 crore and land (Haryana), Rs 50 lakh (Rajasthan), 2kg gold (Sahara), SUV (from PSU Bank), 20 lakh (sports min).

GAGAN NARANG

(Bronze; Shooting, Men's 10m air rifle) The Hyderabad-based shooter won India's second consecutive medal in the event after defending champion Abhinav Bindra crashed out in the first round. It was a brilliant show from Narang as he battled back from the crushing disappointment of missing out in 2008. The ace shooter is now in great demand for motivational lectures across boardrooms. With the qualification cycle for the next Games yet to start, it is now time for Narang to finetune his technique.

REWARDS: Rs 1 cr (Haryana govt), 50 lakh (Rajasthan govt), 2kg gold (Sahara), 20 lakh (sports min), 15 lakh (NRAI)

MC MARY KOM

(Bronze; Boxing, women's flyweight)

With women's boxing making its debut, London was the first opportunity for the multiple world champ to enter the Olympic ring. The Manipur girl had to endure anxious moments before she got a wild card for London. ‘Magnificent Mary’ didn't disappoint, claiming bronze. Mary and her husband Onler have toured the whole of country many times since, being guests of honour at functions. Mary, a mother of three, is now awaiting the release of her Bollywood biopic.

REWARDS: Rs 50 lakh and two acres of land (Manipur), Rs 50 lakh (Rajasthan), 2kg gold (Sahara), Rs 40 lakh (north eastern council), Rs 20 lakh (Assam), 20 lakh (sports min).

SAINA NEHWAL

(Bronze; Badminton, Women's Singles)

Gagan Narang and Sania Mirza's city mate Saina went into the Games as one of the strong medal contenders. She lived up to her billing, delivering a medal, though it came with a bit of luck as rival Wang Xin retired hurt in the bronze medal match. A year later, the high-flying Indian who rose to No. 2 in world rankings is bidding to recapture her top form in the ongoing World Championships.

REWARDS: Rs 1 cr (Haryana), Rs 50 lakh (Rajasthan), 2kg gold (Sahara), Rs 25 lakh (BAI), 20 lakh (sports min), honorary doctorate from Mangalayatan University.

Narrowly missing a medal

The Times of India Maxin Mathew

(See also Athletics: India)

PT USHA (400M WOMEN'S HURDLES FINAL | 1984 LOS ANGELES)

The women's 400m hurdles was making its Olympic debut and given the form that PT Usha was in, India was confident of its first athletics medal at the Games. The feisty Kerala athlete had defeated American star Judi Brown in the semifinals, becoming the first Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event.In the final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Usha began perfectly but the race was halted after a false start by Australian Debbie Flintoff-King. The restart, however, affected Usha's concentration and the 20-year-old got off her blocks slower than earlier.Trailing initially, Usha picked up pace and by the eighth hurdle, was back in contention for a podium finish. However, two hurdles later, Brown overtook her to seal the silver and with Usha failing to bend her body at the finish line, Romania's Cristina Cojocaru Romania's Cristina Cojocaru beat her to the bronze medal by 1100th of a second. Such was the dramatic photo-finish, that even the announcer handed the third place to Usha briefly, before correcting the decision in Cojocaru's favour.

MILKHA SINGH (400m men's final | 1960 Rome)

Milkha Singh was in the form of his life in the run-up to the Games, having won 77 of the 80 races he had run.Competing in the 200m event would have guaranteed a medal for the gutsy sprinter but `The Flying Sikh' opted to race in his favourite 400m instead.Having done impressively in the heats, Milkha shot off the blocks in the final, maintaining a steady second position.But in the final 200m stretch at Rome's Olympic Stadium, he surprisingly slowed down, altering his pace to enable his competitors to overtake him.Milkha finished fourth with a timing of 45.6 seconds, a national record that stood for 38 years.

INDIAN MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM (2000 Sydney)

Having finished a disappointing eighth at the 1996 Atlanta Games, India were determined for a better show at Sydney. Under the leadership of Ramandeep Singh, the Indian squad featuring Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar, Baljeet Singh Saini and Mohammad Riaz had the country's finest players primed to restore hockey's lost glory.India defeated Argentina and Spain, held the Aussies to a 2-2 draw before suffering a shock defeat to Korea. Needing just a win against minnows Poland to advance to the semifinals and guarantee themselves a medal, India took the lead through Dilip Tirkey and chose to adopt a defensive approach instead of going for the kill.The strategy backfired in the final minute of the match when Poland found the equalizer and the sight of Pillay leaving the field in tears remains a poignant memory. India finished tied with Korea but the latter advanced based on a better headto-head record. In the classification round, India lost to Great Britain before defeating Argentina to finish seventh out of the 12 teams.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM (1980 Moscow)

Women's hockey was introduced in Moscow at an Olympics marred with massive boycotts over Russia's invasion in Afghanistan. The Indian women, lacking match practice and proper preparation, began well with wins over Poland and Austria. But a loss to Czechoslovakia and a draw against eventual champions Zimbabwe hit their campaign hard.Needing a draw against Soviet Union to seal at least the bronze in their name, nerves got the better of the Indian team and they lost 1-3 to finish fourth.

LEANDER PAES & MAHESH BHUPATHI (Men's doubles tennis | 2004 Athens)

Two years before the Athens extravaganza, Paes and Bhupathi split for the second time in three years. After a lot of clamour from fans and former players, the duo decided to reunite a month before the Games. Many doubted the pair's capability, but Paes and Bhupathi silenced them all by winning the Canada Masters on their comeback, just weeks before the Games. Seeded fifth in Athens, the `Indian Express' looked set for a medal after defeating heavyweight pairings such as Mardy Fish-Andy Roddick and Yves Allegro-Roger Federer en route to the semis. But in the last-four clash, the favourites, who had not dropped a set till then, suffered a straight sets defeat to Germans Nicholas Kiefer and Rainer Schuttler. The bronze medal showdown against Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic too went against Paes and Bhupathi, the Indian pair suffering a 6-7, 6-4, 14-16 defeat in a four-hour marathon encounter.

HENRY REBELLO (Triple jump, 1948 London)

Henry booked his ticket to London with a national record jump of 50ft, 2in at the 1948 All-India meet in Lucknow, making him a sureshot contender for an Olympic medal. However, the young 19-year-old Bengalurean ruptured his right hamstring muscle in his first jump at the Games and was stretchered off, his Olympic dreams dashed.

SATYADEV PRASAD (Archery | 2004 Athens)

Prasad gave India a glimmer of hope when he battled windy conditions to become the first archer to enter the prequarters. Defeating higher-ranked Japan's Yuji Hamano and Dutchman Ron van der Hoff, Prasad was up against top seed and world record holder South Korean Im Dong-Hyun. The UP lad faltered in the final round, losing the match by an agonizing two points.

WRESTLING

KD Mangave (1952, Helsinki) had to settle for fourth in the freestyle featherweight category after losing to American Josiah Henson in the fifth round. Twenty-four years later, freestyle wrestlers Sudesh Kumar (52kg) and Prem Nath (57 kg) finished fourth at the Munich Games.

BOXING

Gurcharan Singh was on the cusp of winning India a medal at the Sydney Olympics, leading by a point in the quarterfinals of his heavyweight bout against Ukrainian Andriy Fedchuk. However, he failed to evade a punch from Fedchuk in the dying seconds to end the bout tied 12-12. The judges ruled the bout 60-42 (number of punches landed) in favour of the Ukrainian, leaving Gurcharan distraught in the ring.

SHOOTING

Finishing seventh in the qualification round of the men's 50m rifle prone event, Joydeep Karmakar had his eyes set on a medal during the 2012 London Games. He came agonizingly close before losing out on the bronze by 1.9 points to finish fourth.

Medals won: By polulation and GDP

The Times of India, Mar 02 2016

Continent-wise medal tally, 2012 Olympics; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Mar 02 2016

2012-medal winners ranked by medal points per million population; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Mar 02 2016

The country's 1.2 billion-plus population should be an advantage. It's $2 trillion economy should put it among the lords of the rings. Yet, we bring up the rear at the Games every four years. Why? Our sports budget converts into Rs 8 per Indian! India's status as a perpetual under performer in Olympic sports is an issue that has led to much hand wringing over the years, and with good reason. One could argue that a country of 1.2 billion people should be throwing up lots of talented sportspersons and hence be a serious contender for global honours.The truth is that seen in terms of the number of medals won for every million people, India was the worst among all the nations at the London Olympics of 2012. While the two silver and four bronze medals won that year represented the country's best ever showing at the Games, it still amounted to less than 0.01 medals for every million people, barely better than the many nations that won nothing.

If you are among those who believe it is not sheer population size but economic might that counts, you would still be hard put to account for India's performance or lack of it. Once again, with 4.4 medal points (a gold equals three points, a silver two and a bronze one) per trillion dollars of gross domestic product, India was one of the four worst performers among those that won at least one medal.Of course, that's better than the many who won nothing, but again only just.

We looked also at how today's top medal winners had performed when their economy was of roughly the same size as India's now is, that is about $2 trillion. There are nine other countries whose GDP has crossed this mark at some point or the other. We looked at how they fared in the Olympic Games closest to the year in which they achieved their GDP milestone. As the chart shows, every one of them performed much better than India did in 2012.

The inescapable conclusion is that as a thumb rule, for an Indian sportsperson to do well he or she must excel inspite of the system. Cricket is perhaps the best illustration of the point, with the state having no role in running the sport. But even outside of cricket, the examples of Vishwanathan Anand, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza or of Saina Nehwal, Pankaj Advani and Anirban Lahiri prove the point. These are some of India's most accom plished sports stars and they have come up through their own hard work and the sup port of sponsors they have been able to manage, not through state support.

With governments spending little on cre ating sporting infra structure and facili ties for mass partici pation in sports across the length and breadth of this vast country, it is not a situation that is likely to change very much very soon.

Size of contingent

2016 Rio: Exceeds 100

The Times of India, Jun 27 2016

A unique century was scored. It didn't come in a cricket game, but had Team India written all over it. The country's contingent to the Rio Olympics swelled to over 100 -the largest ever for the quadrennial event. The milestone was reached when quarter-miler Mohammad Anas, sprinter Srabani Nanada, long jumper Ankit Sharma and archer Atanu Das clinched Rio berths.

Participating in a qualifying event in Poland, Anas made the grade by clocking 45.40 seconds in the men 400m to equal the qualification mark and win gold in the Poland National Athletics Championships. The 21-year-old also smashed his own national mark of 45.44s. “This has to be the best moment in my career.It hasn't sunk in yet that I'm going to the Olympics,“ the Kerala runner gushed. At the Kosanov Memorial Meet in Almaty , Kazakhstan, Odisha sprinter Srabani Nanda won a qualification in the 200m race. Almaty was the scene of Dutee Chand's history-making women's 100m qualification a day earlier. Completing a rare double for India, Srabani clocked 23.07 secs, a good 0.13 seconds off the Olympic qualifying mark of 23.20, and win bronze at Almaty.Rachita Mistry was the last Indian woman to qualify for the women's 200m, at the Sydney Olympics 16 years ago. Not to be outdone, Morena boy Ankit Sharma smashed the existing long jump national record with 8.19m to win the gold in Almaty and also ensure his passage to Rio. Ankit had earlier leapt to 8.17m, better than the qualifying standard of 8.15m. Elsewhere on Sunday, archer Atanu Das was selected for the men's recurve event following trials in Bengaluru. With the Indian track and field numbers already reaching an impressive 23, the Indian contingent could further increase in the coming weeks with more athletes likely to find them selves in the fray. The boxing team could see three more qualifying at the final Venezuela meet next month. In aquatics, five swimmers have already made the B cut, while the last qualifier in Hong Kong next month to determine how many swimmers go or whether India is awarded a wild card. Despite the 32 hockey players ¬ both men and women squads ¬ forming the regular feature at the Olympics, the Indian Olympic contingent this time would be the largest-ever. While the London Olympics four years ago saw a 83-strong Indian contingent, in April, the then sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal told the Parliament in April, that the ministry had forecast a team of around 90 athletes, with 10-plus medals being targeted. Yet, in what can dampen the ministry's forecasts of a bullish medal tally, according to projections by Infostrada, leading sports database providers and forecasters, India would end up at No.46th in the medals tally, with only one gold (mixed doubles tennis) and three bronze (women's archery , team; Shiva Thapa in boxing and Jitu Rai in pistol shooting) to show for its 100-plus presence at Rio.