New Delhi: August 8, 2004: “The Olympic Games are unique. There are of course myriad reasons: from tradition and pageantry, to the values expressed in the celebration of the Games – such as fair play and respect for one another. All these reasons, in addition to many others, make the Olympic Games a sporting celebration that inspires a dream for young people. And part of that dream is the desire to become an Olympian. For a true Olympian is some one who embodies the characteristic that mankind aspires to in life; not merely a person successful in the world of sport, but someone who personified integrity in action, mutual respect, harmony between mind and body – put simply, Olympic values”.

None could have portrayed significance of Olympic Games and the aura of being an Olympian better than what the IOC president Dr. Jacques Rogge, himself a triple Olympian himself, did in the latest issue of the Olympic Review.

Golden Words. Great Wisdom. As only expected of man of his stature.

You sixteen Indians at Athens, the finest field hockey players, are gifted ones. You are at the verge of playing in the Olympic Games and about to gain Olympian status — if you are already once again now. You are proud achievers of the contemporary India. Some may be young, some may not be so young. Age hardly matters. You deserved to be there and so you are.

You represent India at the Athens gala. We see the Olympics, however narrow might be our vision, through the prism of you and your actions. For us, the eternal hockey lovers, hockey and Olympics are no two different propositions.

Being in the theatre of Olympics and becoming an Olympian is the first of the many rings that form the holy ‘Olympic Values’. Each ring, as in the case of planets, revolves around one another and, with equal force of attraction and repulsion, uphold the spirit (orbit) intact. Like the Olympic insignia of five rings, each ring is intertwined and no question of missing out one or two of them.

You worked hard. You sweat profusely. As any judicious watcher of hockey would agree, no team trains as hard, and for so long, as the Indians do. Starting from January this year, the gifted ones in the team could have got at best a month’s stay at home, that too discontinually, but for the others, a week’s rest was a luxury.

You come out of series of stern tests, physically and mentally, that were imposed on you to see whether you are really the best of the lot. Every engagement you played had been an acid test. At every such slippery step, you survived. If failed at some, you had the resilience to bounce back. Because you were simply the best at that point of time. That’s why you survived and now you are at Athens while others are not. The IHF says there are about 140 selectable players in India. Nothing wrong in believing them. You are, therefore, roughly the best one when counted against eight equals.

Many would agree you are so. Some may not. But these perceptional variances are temporary in nature. What will stand out, like erosional remnants, is the fact that you made it to the mother of all events, the Olympics. And your actions will be part of history. Be it victory. Be it anything different from that. You play all matches. Or nothings. Still, everything will be history to be told and preserved for years to come. Because, you are at Athens and the Olympics is not just one more event. It is THE event.

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