Enframed

Chasing Olympic Dreams



Viren Wilfred Rasquinha was a member of the Indian hockey team that participated in the Olympics in Greece in 2004. He is also an ISB alumnus (Class of 2009), who has retained his ties to sports by joining, Olympic Gold Quest, a programme that aspires “to assist potential athletes to achieve their dream and win Olympic gold medals.” Rasquinha speaks to us about his experience at the Olympics, India’s chances and how his company OGC has contributed in the current games.

You participated in the Greece Olympics in 2004 – What is the mood like in an Olympic village? You are surrounded by the world’s fastest and the best – was the environment competitive even after the daily events concluded? Did you face any food-related issues?
 
The mood is very focused and intense as most athletes and coaches are preparing for their competitions and events, something for which they would have dedicated a lifetime of training. It’s also amazing to see athletes across all sports. You will see tiny gymnasts about 4 feet tall; you will see extremely tall basketball players over 7 feet tall! Roger Federer and Serena Williams were having dinner on the next table at the mess at Athens and you will run into global sports stars at every corner. The best thing about the Games Village is that all athletes from every nation are treated the same and are given the same accommodation no matter how big a star you are or if you are coming from a very small country. The mess is huge because it can take over 5000 people at one time and it is open 24/7. Food is never a problem as there are over 50 different world cuisines and you can spend the two weeks experimenting with a new cuisine daily. But I did not experiment as I had to be very careful to follow our diet and routine to avoid any illness or stomach upset. It’s a wonderful atmosphere and being at the Olympics was a very emotional moment for me because I dreamt of it as a kid and it actually came true.

What sort of preparation is required for an athlete to make it to the Olympics? Do you think winning is mostly “a state of mind?” 

Winning is a combination on many factors. Every sport requires different skill sets and you have to train accordingly. The type of fitness required in badminton differs from the type of fitness required in hockey or boxing. The right kind of training, coaching, equipment, physiotherapy, medical support, nutrition, rest and recovery are all important to perform to your best which help you to win. You also need the right strategy, discipline and sheer hard work. The mind is very important as well. I think the medals won by Abhinav, Vijender and Sushil in 2008 at Beijing have given a lot of confidence to Indian athletes.

Gagan Narang was one of the sports persons supported by Olympic Gold Quest. What level of support does OGQ provide the sportspersons?

OGQ was started by sports legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone with a mission to help India win Olympic gold medals.  OGQ looks after the training of 32 athletes currently out of which 16 athletes are participating at the London 2012 Olympics. Incidentally, Gagan Narang was the first athlete to be supported by OGQ way back in 2008. OGQ looks after the training of the athletes by providing the right kind of coaches, training facilities, and equipment. We have put together the best doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists and mental trainers to give the best back-end support to our athletes. We supplement the efforts of the government and the National Sports federations and work very closely with them in helping our athletes win Olympic medals.

An example of OGQ Impact: For Gagan Narang, we had sent a personal mental trainer and physiotherapist to work with him. We have sent the guns twice abroad to UK and Germany for ammunition and pellet testing. All these things make that little difference which is the difference between winning an Olympic medal and missing out on a place in the final by 1 point (which is what happened to Gagan four years ago at Beijing in 2008.)

Can lessons from a business school be applied to helping athletes win medals?

Of course I feel that my time at ISB has helped me so much in dealing with the best athletes of India at the Olympics. It has just made me more analytical and methodical in my approach. As a hockey player, all I thought about was myself and my own training.  But being at ISB just broadened my vision. The best thing I learnt is to build a structure and system to everything that I do. Else, in India, sports is the most unstructured field. There is no planning and everything is done with very short-term gains in mind. I want to create a system of churning out potential Olympic champions and not just rely on sheer raw talent to win medals for India at the Olympics.

Of course, ISB has helped me more in developing OGQ as an organization from scratch than in directly helping the athletes with their training. When I joined OGQ, there was nothing – no office (we used to meet at a coffee shop), no athletes, no strategy, and no money. Now three years later – we raise about Rs. 4 crores a year through donations, we support 32 athletes and we have more than 80,000 fans on facebook. (www.facebook.com/olympicgoldquest) But most importantly, Gagan Narang won India’s first medal at London 2012 and OGQ’s first ever medal at the Olympics. It has been fulfilling but there is still a long way to go.

Sports is not just a matter of skill and talent anymore – it requires scientific understanding of all elements, from nutrition to training. Does India have the capability and the resources to pull this off?

Yes, of course we have the capability of providing the best scientific and back-end support. For example, M.C. Mary Kom fights in the 51kgs in women’s boxing which is an individual sport. However, there is an army of people working in the backend to ensure that she has to concentrate only on her training and competition and not worry about anything else. We have a foreign coach for her; she has her own personal physiotherapist and an excellent nutritionist. We help her with video analysis of her opponents. So we have the capabilities. It’s about bringing it all together in an efficient and professional manner because when you are dealing with elite athletes, it’s not just the right kind of support that is important, but the right kind of support at the right time. You have to move with speed.

Do you foresee more medals for India in 2016?

Yes, things will definitely improve with every Olympics. But we have to stay committed and move quickly with the times – else India will be left behind at the Olympics.