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Kolkata:
Away from the glitz and glamour of celebrations to hail the heroes
of India's most successful Olympic Games are the unsung
non-governmental agencies that played a significant role in the
athletes' accomplishments.
Small bands of former internationals and corporates quietly worked
to see the Indian athletes fulfilling their dreams of becoming
world beaters at the London Games.
Prominent among the agencies are the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), the
brainchild of sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone,
and Mittal Champions Trust (MCT), an initiative by steel baron
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, which has on its board tennis stars Mahesh
Bhupathi and Manisha Malhotra.
Seeing the Mittals, other corporate houses have also started
looking beyond cricket. They are now viewing the Olympic
disciplines more favourably.
The Mittals have earmarked over Rs.50 crore to prepare the
prospective medal winners at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while the
Sahara Group has an ambitious plan to create an ultra-modern
sports complex at the sylvan surroundings in Amby Valley near Pune,
with facilities for boxing, wrestling, shooting and archery.
From spotting potential talent to providing them with the means to
improve their performance, both OGQ and the MCT have been helping
Indian athletes achieve the ultimate sporting glory - an Olympic
gold medal.
That five of the six London medallists are part of either the OGQ
or the MCT, shows the two organisations have succeeded in their
effort to help athletes excel. If the MCT has grappler Yogeshwar
Dutt as a medal winner, then the OGQ has shuttler Saina Nehwal,
shooters Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang, and boxer M.C. Mary Kom,
who all had podium finish last month.
"Our focus was on three key aspects - selecting the best talent,
monitoring their growth and finally fund their requirements.
Selecting the right athletes is the essence of our venture and we
choose them in a scientific way after a thorough research,"
Padukone told IANS.
The MCT has 38 athletes on its roster while the OGQ has 32 from
various Olympics disciplines.
Founded in 2001, the OGQ has experts, who systematically monitor
the progress of athletes and provide them the best coaching and
scientific training facilities. Their nutrition and diet are also
taken care of.
"Different players have different requirements and they themselves
know what they need. We just provide the funds so that they can
avail the best of the facilities without any red tape," said
Padukone, adding that the OGQ has spent nearly Rs.8 crore so far
on the athletes.
OGQ - backed among others by Bajaj Group, one of whose directors
Neeraj Bajaj is a former table tennis international - will raise
Rs.7 crore every year for the next four years. It is also looking
ahead to train athletes in their early teens keeping 2020 as goal.
Acknowledging the contribution of MCT and OGQ, sports minister
Ajay Maken has made a public appeal to major business houses to
join hands with the government in raising the standards of sport
in the country.
Both OGQ and MCT send sportspersons overseas for training and hire
foreign coaches and trainers and also provide them world class
equipment. They also make sure the athletes get the right kind of
international exposure to reach the "next level" of their
performance.
"Our mission is to harness India's sporting talent and create an
empowering environment for athletes with the support and guidance
required to get on to the Olympic podium," MCT chief executive
officer (CEO) Manisha Malhotra told IANS.
With "Talent is born, Champions are bred" as its motto, the MCT
was born at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The London Games may surely have finished but for the OGQ and MCT,
the journey goes on.
"From now on it is Mission Rio (Rio de Janeiro). Our goal is
securing at least 20 medals in 2020," said Malhotra.
The sportspersons, who have been receiving monetary benefit from
the MCT or the OGQ are determined to show their gratitude with
medal-winning performances.
"I am very thankful to the MCT for all its support. I owe my
success to it. From world class training facilities to getting the
latest equipment, they did everything for me," shooter Joydeep
Karmakar, who narrowly missed a bronze medal in London, told IANS.
While the country is celebrating its best ever Olympics medal
haul, both the MCT and OGQ are unwilling to take the credit.
"The credit for the success at the Games this year goes to the
athletes and the government which has spent huge sums of money to
put in adequate infrastructure. We have played just a small
supportive role," former hockey star and OGQ CEO Viren Rasquinha
told IANS.
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