Serving the cause of Olympic movement in India

Vivek Shukla *

When the Nation was rejoicing the bronze medal performance of Manu Bhakar last Sunday, the Brother's House in the capital was also celebrating the victory of Manu Bhakar. Those who live there were all the more happy that Jaspal Rana, the coach of Manu is related to them. Actually, Rana was an alumnus of St Stephen's College was established by Delhi Brotherhood Society more than 140 years ago.

Indeed, it is a champion of Olympic movement in India along with top cop late Ashwini Kumar. Well, the thinking cop Ashwini Kumar, who also served as the second Director General of BSF, had monitored the security aspects of Olympic games after the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Ashwini Kumar was heading the security team of Montreal (1976), Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000) games.

Until the 1972 Munich Olympics, everything was going according to plan until tragedy struck the Munich Olympics when Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village and killed two members of the Israeli team. Nine other Israelis were held hostage as the terrorists bargained for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. That gory tragedy brought the Games to a halt.

Post Munich, there was a demand from various quarters to organise both summer and winter Olympic Games without any untoward incident. That was the time when the International Olympic Conference (IOC) requested him to look after the security aspects of the games. IOC knew that Ashwini Kumar knows policing more than most of the people.

Hockey buff and Imperial Police (IP) officer (now Indian Police Service), Ashwini Kumar once told me "In subsequent Olympics after Munich, increased security measures in the Olympic Villages and competition venues protected athletes. It is also true that increased security also diminished the festive and open atmosphere that is at the heart of Olympics.

But then you have no choice after the Munich massacre and as the number of terror outfits are swelling thick and fast across the world." And if we talk about Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBA), it has been doing great service in developing sports culture in India through its St Stephen's College in Delhi and now St Stephen's Cambridge school in Sonipat in Haryana.

Their college has produced a host of great Olympic players. According to Brother Solomon George of the Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS), which established St Stephen's College, "We have always been committed to community service and encouraging emerging athletes. This college has produced hordes of players who have represented India in Olympic games.

If it has been producing accomplished players, credit must be given to all those who work both as Christian priests and social workers. They are all associated with DBS." Dr Kami Singh is undoubtedly St Stephen's College's most renowned Olympian. He participated in shooting competitions at the 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980 Olympics.

Renowned sports administrator and a product of St Stephen's college, Randhir Singh also participated in five Olympics from 1968 to 1984. Mansher Singh, an exceptional shooter, competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Both Randhir Singh and Mansher Singh studied at St Stephen's College and honed their shooting skills there. Mansher "Joey" Singh specializes in double trap and trap.

At the 2008 Olympic Games, he finished in first place in the trap qualification. He also came first at the 2004 Olympic Games. In addition, he has medals from the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. In the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, he won a gold medal in the trap event.

Says Brother Solomon George, 'We strive to ensure our students excel not only in academics but also in sports and other activities, becoming ideal citizens. We provide them with every possible facility. It is with this vision that St Stephen's Cambridge School, recently established on the Delhi-Sonipat border, is offering modern facilities for various sports, aiming to produce future Olympians for India. "

Meanwhile, during the Rome Games, Ranjit Bhatia, a Mathematics Professor at St Stephen's College, competed in the marathon. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, St Stephen's College's Piyush Kumar competed in the 4x400-meter relay race, and Sandeep Sejwal participated in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke swimming events. Neha Aggarwal, a table tennis player and former student of St Stephen's College participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

And in this Paris Olympics, Jaspal Rana, another alumnus of St Stephen's College, is taking part as a coach of young shooter Manu Bhakar. Manu Bhaker scripted history, shooting an Olympic Bronze medal in Paris last Sunday. The 22-year-old from Haryana became the first Indian female shooter to win a medal at the Games after she clinched the third position in the women's 10m air pistol final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in the French capital.

Three years after a series of heartbreaks in Tokyo, one of India's most celebrated and talented shooters fulfilled her dreams, bringing glory to the nation. She was training under the watchful eyes of Jaspal Rana, himself a celebrated shooter. Rana honed his skill as a shooting player during his days in St Stephen's College.

Let us hope that both DBS and Ashwani Kumar continue to inspire the future generation of Olympic players in India. " I only hope that DBS continues to provide world class facilities to students of their educational intuitions .

I hope that Like St. Stephen's College, St. Stephan's Cambridge school in Sonipat in Haryana would also produce many Olympic players," concludes noted sports writer and Commentator Ghaus Mohammad.