echarcha
February 14th, 2002, 04:40 PM
Shiva takes India to the Winter Olympics
SALT LAKE CITY: For 11 of the roughly 2,500 athletes at the Winter Olympics, their nations' hopes are truly riding on them.
From luger Shiva Keshavan of India (population one billion) to skier Gian Matteo Giordani of San Marino (population 27,000), those 11 are the lone representatives from their homelands competing in Salt Lake City.
Five are Winter Olympic pioneers: the first-ever competitors from their countries.
``When someone is trying to do something new and different, I often think you have to do it alone,'' said cross-country skier Jayram Khadka, the first winter athlete from Nepal. ``The irony of the whole thing is that we have the world's best mountains, arguably, and over these years we haven't been able to get into the event.''
The other countries making their Winter Olympics debut are from snowless places like Cameroon, Fiji and Thailand.
The 11 lone hopers also include the aptly named Patrick Singleton of Bermuda, a luger who wore Bermuda shorts to the frigid opening ceremonies, and skier Alexander Heath of South Africa, who made his nation's Winter Games debut in 1998.
India's Keshavan is appearing in his second Winter Olympics. He trained for the last games at Nagano by spending a few weeks in Austria with a former World Cup doubles champion. He geared up this time by spending an entire season on the international circuit
It didn't help much. Keshavan finished 33rd of 50__nowhere near a medal.
Even if these one-man delegations are unlikely to be seen atop any medals stands, they'lll make history as Olympic oddities whose tales range from charming to inspiring. The most dramatic may belong to Khadka, whose formative years were spent in England. He was raised by a businessman who'd been rescued from a climbing accident by Khadka's father, a police officer.
Instead of accepting payment for his good deed, the officer asked the Englishman to care for his son if needed.
Years later, Richard Morley learned his friend died of a heart attack and flew to Nepal to keep his promise. He looked for three months until finding Khadka working in a kitchen; the boy instantly recognised the man from a picture his father left.
They returned to England, but it took a seven-year immigration battle that cost Mr Morley more than $350,000 for Khadka to stay.
Mr Morley taught Khadka to ski and he liked it so much he began practicing to make the Olympics in downhill and slalom. An injury led him to cross country. He'll compete in the 10-kilometre freestyle.
Laurence Thoms of Fiji got here on the bankroll of Toni Hauswirth, a Swiss businessman who got rich in Korea and retired to the cluster of South Pacific Islands.
In 1998, Mr Hauswirth took a group of kids from Fiji skiing in New Zealand. Their enthusiasm led him to create the Fiji Alpine Ski Association.
Thailand's Prawat Nagvajara saw his first snowflake when he moved to Boston for college. He was a casual skier until 1998, when he saw Philip Boit become the first Winter athlete from Kenya.
There are some benefits to being a one-man delegation: no argument over the order to march in for the opening ceremony.
http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1003765
SALT LAKE CITY: For 11 of the roughly 2,500 athletes at the Winter Olympics, their nations' hopes are truly riding on them.
From luger Shiva Keshavan of India (population one billion) to skier Gian Matteo Giordani of San Marino (population 27,000), those 11 are the lone representatives from their homelands competing in Salt Lake City.
Five are Winter Olympic pioneers: the first-ever competitors from their countries.
``When someone is trying to do something new and different, I often think you have to do it alone,'' said cross-country skier Jayram Khadka, the first winter athlete from Nepal. ``The irony of the whole thing is that we have the world's best mountains, arguably, and over these years we haven't been able to get into the event.''
The other countries making their Winter Olympics debut are from snowless places like Cameroon, Fiji and Thailand.
The 11 lone hopers also include the aptly named Patrick Singleton of Bermuda, a luger who wore Bermuda shorts to the frigid opening ceremonies, and skier Alexander Heath of South Africa, who made his nation's Winter Games debut in 1998.
India's Keshavan is appearing in his second Winter Olympics. He trained for the last games at Nagano by spending a few weeks in Austria with a former World Cup doubles champion. He geared up this time by spending an entire season on the international circuit
It didn't help much. Keshavan finished 33rd of 50__nowhere near a medal.
Even if these one-man delegations are unlikely to be seen atop any medals stands, they'lll make history as Olympic oddities whose tales range from charming to inspiring. The most dramatic may belong to Khadka, whose formative years were spent in England. He was raised by a businessman who'd been rescued from a climbing accident by Khadka's father, a police officer.
Instead of accepting payment for his good deed, the officer asked the Englishman to care for his son if needed.
Years later, Richard Morley learned his friend died of a heart attack and flew to Nepal to keep his promise. He looked for three months until finding Khadka working in a kitchen; the boy instantly recognised the man from a picture his father left.
They returned to England, but it took a seven-year immigration battle that cost Mr Morley more than $350,000 for Khadka to stay.
Mr Morley taught Khadka to ski and he liked it so much he began practicing to make the Olympics in downhill and slalom. An injury led him to cross country. He'll compete in the 10-kilometre freestyle.
Laurence Thoms of Fiji got here on the bankroll of Toni Hauswirth, a Swiss businessman who got rich in Korea and retired to the cluster of South Pacific Islands.
In 1998, Mr Hauswirth took a group of kids from Fiji skiing in New Zealand. Their enthusiasm led him to create the Fiji Alpine Ski Association.
Thailand's Prawat Nagvajara saw his first snowflake when he moved to Boston for college. He was a casual skier until 1998, when he saw Philip Boit become the first Winter athlete from Kenya.
There are some benefits to being a one-man delegation: no argument over the order to march in for the opening ceremony.
http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1003765