My 70-Year Journey Through The Olympics

Early Olympic memories

My Olympic ‘journey’ started almost 70 years ago in India.  It was a natural progression for me, an avid sports fan, albeit of the ‘couch-potato’ variety.  I quickly took to Track and Field, with its names and statistics on times and distances – much of it probably a carryover from cricket!

My first memories of the Olympics are from Melbourne, in 1956.  India won its fifth hockey gold medal, with a team captained by Balbir Singh.  It was also in Melbourne that India had its greatest football success. The Indian team, captained by Samar (Badru) Banerjee of Mohan Bagan, came in fourth, beating the hosts, Australia in the quarter-finals but losing to Yugoslavia in the semi-finals and to Bulgaria in the third-place games.

The 1960s

Then in Rome 1960, India lost its hold on the gold medal in field hockey.  But the major disappointment was when Milkha Singh, the Flying Sikh, the 400-meter maestro missed out on a medal by 0.1 seconds.  I still remember listening to the radio announcement after the race.  India regained its hockey gold at Tokyo (1964), beating Pakistan.  Television had not yet arrived in Calcutta, and we heard the news on radio, from the newspaper, and a wonderful sports magazine called Sport and Pastime.

In 1967, I moved to the US, to Berkeley.  Finally, I had a TV in time for the Mexico Olympics in 1968.  At International House (I-House) where I lived then,  I became a minor hero in my circle of friends for my swift recall of names and records.  I can still remember the miraculous 29’-2-1/2” Long Jump by American Bob Beamon and the much-publicized salute by 200-meter medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos protesting the treatment of Black people in the US.

The 1970s

Then came Munich1972 marred by the violent killing of Israeli athletes, but notable for Mark Spitz’s incredible seven gold medals for swimming.  I remember top US sprinter Eddie Hart missed the 100-meter start because he may have overslept and archrival Borozov won it for Russia. And I recall an impostor who appeared in the stadium before Frank and was taken out by the security.

Montreal, 1976

Montreal was my first Olympics as a spectator.  My wife, 2-year-old son, and three engineering classmates rented a car and drove from New York to Montreal.

My memory has dimmed over the years, but a few memories remain.  We traveled by subway which was so much cleaner than New York. We also saw a soccer game between Poland and East Germany – somehow, I still remember two names from the Polish side – Leto and Deyna. I’d never seen such high-quality soccer live.

I recall a Field Hockey game where India, its glory days behind them, fought for a fifth-place finish with flashes of their legendary brilliance.  The stands were packed with Indians, who arrived anticipating an Indian win.  Our disappointment eased a little a tall, dark and handsome Patel took the field for New Zealand!

I remember the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter races where India’s Sriram Singh of India distinguished himself by reaching the Finals. And when the Marathon runners entered the Stadium for their last lap, India’s Shivnath Singh was in the pack. He finished eleventh.

The last event we saw was the mesmerizing men’s volleyball final between Russia and Poland, and we had to leave early because the landlady at our guesthouse was babysitting our little boy.

Los Angeles, 1984

In 1984, Russia and some Eastern bloc countries boycotted the Olympics because America and some Western nations protested Russia’s war in Afghanistan during the 1980 Moscow Games.

That year I took a week off from work and headed to LA to stay with my cousins. For me, the highlight of the 1984 games was the day PT Usha won her semi-finals in the 400-m hurdles.  It was so thrilling to watch her thin, tall frame suddenly accelerate, overtaking her competition including the American champion, Judy King.  In the finals, she was behind the bronze medalist by .001 seconds.  Heartbreaking!  That moment had to rank with other momentous near-misses- Milkha Singh in 400 meters in 1960 in Rome and Deepa Karmakar’s coming up short in gymnastics in 2012 in Rio de Janeiro.  But in terms of outstanding performances, I saw the great Carl Lewis in the long jump winning one of his 4 gold medals.

On the last day, I was back for Track and Field.  India’s women qualified for the 4x400m relay with a team that included PT Usha and Shiny Abraham. Two Brits aced the 1500meters – Seb Coe won gold setting an Olympic record, followed by Steve Cram with silver.  I learned that Seb Coe’s maternal grandfather was a Punjabi, Sardari Lal Malhotra.

Another stand-out athlete was the iconic diver Greg Louganis. Though I was ignorant about the nuances of diving, for some reason, Louganis’s dives stood apart.  I also saw Pakistan beat West Germany to win field hockey gold.

My 10-year-old son joined me at the Equestrian events which we understood very little of, but the horses and riders were fascinating to watch. I learned that men and women compete as equals in Equestrian.

London, 2012

In 2012 we were in London for the birth of our grandson, our first grandchild so the London Olympics was more of a ‘sideshow’ for us!  Apart from seeing rhythmic gymnastics at the indoor stadium, and a women’s Field Hockey quarterfinal,  I heard from Indian Olympic officials that Mary Kom, our boxing legend from Manipur had won a bronze medal.

The most entertaining event was the women’s soccer final between the USA and Sweden at the storied Wembley Stadium. The USA won on penalty kicks.  The stadium full of Americans cheered lustily and it felt good to be from America, telling each other where we came from. I happily shared that I was from the San Francisco Bay Area.

I spent long hours watching other events on TV. One athlete stood out for me- Mo Farah originally from Somalia, who represented Britain and won both the 5000 and 10,000 meters.

Paris, 2024

This year India has made its mark at the Paris Olympics with three Bronze Medals in shooting (by Manu Bhaker,  Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale as well as a Bronze in men’s hockey. Neeraj Chopra took silver in the men’s javelin throw and Aman Sehrawat won bronze in men’s freestyle wrestling (57kg).

My Olympic journey will not be complete without my trip to Athens, Greece in 2018 to the Olympic Stadium, where the first Modern Olympics were held in 1896.  It was a ‘dream come true’ for me, a feeling that’s hard to describe.

The Olympic closing ceremony will take place in the Stade de France at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 11, featuring a parade of flags and athletes.

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