Business degree in hand, Viren returns with a quest for gold

Uthra Ganesan

New Delhi: Sports and professionalism do not really mix in India. Which is why it’s all the more surprising when a former international sportsman, having quit in frustration at the peak of his career, takes the professional route to return to his passion.

Viren Rasquinha has never been the typical Indian sportsperson. The former hockey Olympian, who quit playing in early 2007 to pursue his MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), has joined as the Chief Operating Officer with the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ). The OGQ is a non-profit organisation that works to identify and support talented individual sportspersons in their Olympic journey.

“I think it is precisely because of my background as a sportsman that I am ideally placed to help other athletes. A management degree only helps further by giving an idea of how to run an organisation professionally,” Rasquinha said after taking charge on Monday, adding that although talks began almost a month back, he had not really thought of coming back to sports after quitting hockey. “The fact that the likes of Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone are associated with it helped me make my decision,” said Rasquinha.

While not too many former players come back to administrative duties in sports in India, those that do prefer being coaches or team managers, many without requisite qualifications. The only exception at the moment, besides Rasquinha, is former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh, who is currently the sports director in Punjab.

Rasquinha was nicknamed “the leech” in his playing days for his tenacity and his ability to suck the opposition dry, and he expects to bring the same approach to his duties with OGQ. “Of course I am happy doing something that I love, but I would also like to bring in pure professionalism into sports. It’s not just about giving something back to sports or some emotional return, it’s about trying to make sure sports and professionalism are not mutually exclusive,” he said, making it clear that it was a well-thought out decision.

Rasquinha’s role with the OGQ will be two-fold. While he will be responsible for bringing in the financial support for the athletes supported by the OGQ through tie-ups with corporates and branding, he will also be working to identify and groom more talented athletes. The organisation currently has five athletes on its roll: discuss thrower Vikas Gowda, 800m runner Tintu Luka, shooter Gagan Narang, boxer Sanjay Kolte and shuttler Guru Sai Dutt.

“Right now, we are concentrating on six sports — shooting, archery, boxing, wrestling, athletics and badminton. We are also supporting the Usha School of Athletics. But that does not mean that a talented athlete from any other discipline will not be considered.

“One thing is clear though: we will be working along with the sporting federations, not against them,” Rasquinha said