Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris
The times that I had previously visited the Paralympic Games Village in Paris, I had done my stories from outside, taking in what was visible from the boundary and from right outside the entrance. The different residence blocks of Italy, Nigeria or China were visible from the road there. On Friday, the entire RevSportz team in Paris and I finally had a chance to view the Indian residence building inside the Athletes’ Village, as we undertook a tour as guests of the Indian Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Athletes’ Village is not only high security, it’s a sacrosanct area where only they, the support staff and officials of the different contingents are allowed entry. It is a place that’s reported on by all media covering the games, but most often, it is by word of mouth, from those that have had the chance to be inside, and that’s not many, other than members of the national contingents. So, Friday was a day to remember, a day of a rare privilege.
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🚨 Scenes from Team India’s celebrations at the Games Village after crossing 25 medals!
Enjoy the scenes! @ShrachiSports @PCI_IN_Official @sumit_javelin @DevJhajharia @BoriaMajumdar @Paris2024 @AmitParalympian @ArcherHarvinder#Paris2024 #ParisParalympics2024… pic.twitter.com/9Q2VhPqTRU
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 6, 2024
We had to deposit our passports when collecting our guest passes for entry, and those same passes needed to be returned to get our passports back – so that tells you the seriousness of the whole thing. One more thing, even after the entry with your guest pass, you need an escort around the village – somebody from your country’s Paralympic contingent – and they need to accompany the guests beyond the next security point. We were led by a support member of the Indian team to the residence, where the ground floor office area was being prepared to celebrate the pachhis paar [beyond 25] of Indian medals! We were welcomed with open arms, and delighted to be part of it.
In few instances have I encountered such warmth and earthiness as in that celebration space. Everybody, including the support staff, the Chief Team Physician and a few athletes, was blowing balloons and putting up decorations, and we were handed some to make ourselves useful. The place quickly took on the party look as the decorations all went up, and office-bearers Devendra Jhajharia, Satya Prakash Sangwan (Chef de Mission), athletics head coach Satyanarayan ji, veteran Paralympian Amit Saroha, medal winners Sumit Antil, Nishad Kumar, Sheetal Devi, coaches and others arrived. The background music was Chak de, India, with Sumit, Nishad, gold medal-winner Harvinder Singh and some others breaking into dance.
The dancing then moved outside the office area into the open outside the Indian block, and the traffic there was almost blocked by the celebrations, much like wedding parties back home. Anybody passing by was being handed kaju barfis, soan papri and other Indian mithai. After a full day of enjoying the hospitality, with a late lunch at the main dining hall for the athletes, we sat outside with Harvinder and some of the others. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience for us outsiders, to sit with athletes from so many nations milling about us, and our own athletes now so relaxed after their own competitions were mostly done. They were joking and laughing, and someone said there were French chefs creating gourmet dishes – a limited number each day – in the dining area. Others recounted being caught in a hair-raising episode downtown, of the police chasing a speeding car in Mission Impossible style.
The sun dropped, and we parted with hugs as some of them saw us out all the way to the gates of the village.
Also Read: Come on, Paris, do better – The case of Harvinder and the stolen mascot