Author: S Kannan

S.Kannan in Paris The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is just about two days away, yet, if you go by the efficient way in which the airport staff is handling arrivals at the Charles de Gaulle terminals, there is no panic. Usually, a few days before the Olympics, there is confusion when one lands in the host city. Yet, the way the organisers have meticulously planned things in detail, there is no chaos. For athletes and journalists arriving in the Capital of France from various countries, the immigration process was a breeze. It’s a clear sign, nothing has been left to…

S.Kannan in Paris Any athlete who goes to represent the country at the Olympics does feel emotional. To wear the India colours and be part of the contingent is a surreal moment. One man who competed as a pistol prodigy at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, USA, and is back in the mix for Paris 2024 is Jaspal Rana. Twenty-eight years is a long gap between two Olympics, just that Rana is feeling the high energy and is happy as the Indian shooters are aiming for glory at the ranges at Chateauroux, 275 km away from Paris. “To be back…

Sports fans love to hype up rivalries, whatever the discipline. It does not matter if the two athletes in question are from the same club or country. India, too, is fortunate, it saw one ‘rivalry’ play out at the shooting ranges. Lest one confuses this to be some kind of Wild West fantasy theme, this is about two icons of Indian shooting, Abhinav Bindra, gold medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Gagan Narang, bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics. In an era gone by, when few sportswriters bothered to write about shooting as a sport and understand the…

Indian wrestling has undergone a sea change over the decades. From the time a certain KD Jadhav won a historic first medal for India at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, the wait for another medal was agonising. Come Beijing 2008, when China hosted the Summer Olympics for the first time, the individual who restored pride on the mat was Sushil Kumar. Beijing is always remembered for Abhinav Bindra’s historic gold medal in air rifle and Vijender Singh’s bronze in boxing. Viewed from a historical perspective, Sushil bouncing back through the repechage system turned out to be path-breaking. Today, everyone who…

One figure who could not be missed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, till the Covid pandemic struck, was track and field legend Gurbachan Singh Randhawa. Tall and dressed in sporting whites, he would spend almost 90 minutes daily, overseeing youngsters who had come to train under a scheme promoted by the DDA (Delhi Development Authority at a venue which is steeped in history. Anyone who had visited the venue would vouch, the genial Sardar would keep an eye and offer tips. But then, when the virus started raging in 2020, he had to move away, stay at…

If you Google the name of Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore these days, more pages are thrown up on his political career. However, the real story of ‘Chilly’ Rathore, as old-timers know him, is of how he fell in love with double-trap shooting. Trap shooting has been a part of the Olympics programme for decades. Shooting at orange clay birds flying out from different stations at different trajectories had been mastered by Maharaja Karni Singh of Bikaner, a true legend. He did not win an Olympic medal, but shot at various World Championships for India and was a pioneer. That legacy…

Karnam Malleswari winning a historic bronze medal in weightlifting for India at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 will always be a first. Unlike today, when there will be gender equality at the Paris Olympics, an Indian woman storming the stage was least expected 24 years ago. For all those who had followed the illustrious exploits of Malleswari, popularly known as ‘Malli’ to friends, she was a very fierce competitor. When she took to the sport in Andhra Pradesh as a 12 year old, some mocked her. But then, her mother was a pillar of support and strength for the daughter.…

The long wait for an Olympic medal after the 1980 Moscow Olympics was agonising for India. Three Olympics after that, 1984 Los Angeles, 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona, saw India return empty handed. It, then, needed one magnificent effort from Leander Paes to quench the thirst of Indian fans. The historic bronze medal Leander won at the Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, USA, in 1996, will always rank high on the emotional quotient. Those were the days when politics in Indian hockey was at an all-time high, no matter who the coach was. So, results were disastrous in Atlanta, with…

Milkha Singh lived a full life, literally. Easily the most emotional name which resonates even today with sporting fans in India and abroad, the lion-hearted Sardar, often referred to as the ‘Flying Sikh’ did not win an Olympic medal. Yet, the legacy he left behind in the 400 metres can never be erased. There are many emotional stories on Milkha. What will always be remembered is how he had to struggle in life to become the icon he was. To have lived for 91 years, the first image of Milkha, even in his 80s was a man dressed so smartly.…

It’s almost 40 years since PT Usha, a shy girl from Kerala, stormed the field at the Los Angeles Olympics. To say that she was the cynosure of all eyes was wrong, since The Payyoli Express, as she was known fondly, was not supposed to be blazing the 400m hurdles event. Yet, when she lost the bronze medal by one hundredth of a second, a nation was saddened. To recall what happened four decades ago is not just about nostalgia. For Usha, a girl better known for her strides, rhythm and speed in the shorter sprints, the 400m hurdles was…