Paris 2024 is my Olympics debut – as a viewer, reporter and a devout Indian fan.It’s been a fascinating week to say the least.
As context, I have had the opportunity to travel around to world to watch international cricket tournaments, but I am new to watching non-cricketing sports at international meets.
Earlier this week, I had the unique opportunity to watch two indoor events – Nikhat Zareen’s boxing bout against top-seeded Wu Yu and PV Sindhu’s shuttling battle against her arch rival, He Bingjiao.As a fan in the stadium, there were interesting contrasts and similarities that made the experiences enriching despite the results.
Both the Indian ladies were up against tougher Chinese opponents and despite a good fight, India lost both matches and two of our medal hopefuls were ousted fairly early in their draws.
Watching boxing turned out to be far more intimate, intimidating, intense and inclusive than I had anticipated. When one entered the arena, one was welcomed into a dark room with flashy lights and loud music, as though one had entered a disco the que .The room was jam packed and everyone was seated around the boxing ring and intently watching one bout at a time.
It was fantastic to see people from far and wide come together to support their national heroes, including folks from smaller sporting nations like Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Palestine, who were there to cheer their hearts out during the three rounds of boxing.
As a contact sport, it was intimidating to see boxers being punched and fighters falling by the ringside; some bleeding and some in tears.The crowd clapping intensely and rhythmically thumping their feet on the metal stands added to the nervous energy in the room.
Contrast that to the much larger badminton stadium at Porte de La Chapelle, where about 8,000 people can be seated across three tiers in an amphitheatre-styled setup and one is privy to and distracted by three concurrent matches.
Depending on one’s seat allocation, one is either lucky to watch their preferred player straight off, or else crane their necks to catch a glimpse of their play on an adjacent court.
I was lucky to be able to swap seats so that I could watch Sindhu right in front of my eyes.Badminton may not be a contact sport but it is fast paced and one has to follow the player’s feet, hands and shot angles to keep abreast with the game.
Unlike boxing it wasn’t a disco-like atmosphere but the cacophony of the fans from six representative nations cheering their beloved players made it an intense affair to watch.
Unfortunately, one thing that was common across both these events was a lack of Indian fan support, unlike the support bases enjoyed by the players from China, Malaysia and even Spain.
There were occasional shouts of “Come on, Sindhu” and a handful of fans waving their India flags, but we were drowned out amidst the sea of red, who were constantly backing their star with chants of “Jiayou, Bingjiao”.
And it makes a world of difference, as we saw Carolina Marin bounce back from being one set down, with the crowd constantly cheering and singing for her.
I personally experienced the difference a day later, when there was relatively better support as the young Lakshya Sen was battling it out against the experienced Chou Tien-chen, who too had immense support in the crowd and was egging them to keep up the noise.
For more Olympic Updates:
Paris Olympics 2024: Looking back at Manu Bhaker and Deepika Kumari’s performances today https://t.co/uGgEoPpxWv
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) August 3, 2024
We had fewer fans but all it took was one super fan, who matched every “Jiayou, Chou Tien” with “Jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega” irrespective of the situation of the game. All of us rallied around him and cheered our lungs out to back the unnerved Lakshya till he got the better of the opponent.
He didn’t win because of us fans, and players can lose despite massive fan support, but it definitely reassures them that their nation cares. Some even need an audience to thrive with their showmanship.
I sincerely request and urge Indian fans to show up enthusiastically and in large numbers, just the way we do for cricket. Our diaspora is large enough, and today, many of our people have the were withal to travel to watch sport.
Our athletes need us. They will benefit from our collective presence on good and bad days and in the process, I can assure you that you will forge new bonds through shared experiences and make memories for a lifetime, while supporting the global ascent of Indian sport.
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