Ramandeep Singh Grewal, who led the Indian mens hockey team in Sydney in 2000, shares his moments in the village…
I had participated in two Olympics — 1996 in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney. In Sydney I lead the team. Apart from being disappointed at not winning any medal, we had some really good times on both the occasions.
I am a big fan of Monica Seles. I have always dreamt of talking to her and that came true when I actually met her in the village. It was so unexpected. One morning Subhaiah, Baljit Singh and I were sitting in the McDonalds restaurant just opposite to the village and saw Seles coming there.
We couldnt believe our eyes and kept on asking each other: Is this Seles? But when she came close, I recognised her and knew that my dream would get fulfilled.
We met her, had a chat with her and even took snaps to make the moment memorable. We also got to see stars like Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson in the village.
We didnt get enough leisure time, but sometimes before a crucial match we used to relax by playing indoor games such as billiards and snooker.
We would even go to see the practice sessions of United States sprinters. That was fantastic. Getting to see so many top sprinters was something I cherished. I was also mesmerized watching the US basketball players from close quarters.
However, I always take pride in representing the country in the Olympics, particularly during the flag-hoisting ceremony when everyone gets to hear his/her national anthem being played before the start of the Games. That is one hair-raising moment, I can tell you.
— As told to Sanjib Guha