London warms up for Olympic Games

England’s capital London is   proudly, elegantly   attired   for the planet’s most   spectacular, extravagant, enthralling   and alluring   mega sporting   spectacle   the   XXX Olympic Games, commencing from 27 July.

The 2012   Games   will be   officially   opened by   Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the Olympic stadium, and the closing ceremony takes place in the same venue, as well.

This is the third time   London   is hosting the Summer Olympic Games. It may be   recalled   that the city had hosted   the Games in 1908 and 1948.

The Olympic Games held every four years is much more than   just a colossal spectacle. Apart from its entertainment value, it is a powerful and effective tool that blends and binds together   athletes of all castes, creeds, colors, faiths and political ideologies from across the globe.

Every athlete harbors   a lifelong dream to represent   his/her country   in the Olympics. It is widely believed   that   the Ancient Olympic Games started in   776 BC based on inscriptions found at Olympia, Greece.

The Olympics has gone through transformation of epic proportion   since the inception of modern   Summer Olympic Games held   in 1896 in Athens, Greece under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of the number of nations and athletes participating. The Panathenaic stadium in Athens, Greece in 1896 saw 241 athletes from 14 nations who participated in 43   events.

In comparison, the London   Olympics will bring together   an estimated 10,500 athletes from more than 200 countries. They will compete in 302 events (26 sports and a total of 39 disciplines).

We have come a long way since the Ancient Olympic Games in 776 BC, and it continues to thrive and expand even now. We have   seen   many   ups and downs, negatives and positives of the Games, over several decades. 

The Olympics has had its share of downs in the form of cancellations, controversies, boycotts, politics, and use of performance enhancing drugs, gender discrimination and tragedies.

The Games was hit by boycotts in 1936,1956,1972,1976, 1980 and 1984 for different reasons, however, the nations that chose to do so were politically driven.

Speaking of cancellation, twice the Olympics had to be called off because of World War 1 and World 2 in 1916 and 1940 respectively.

Of the many, prominent   were the 1972 and 1979 boycotts led by African countries in protest to ban South Africa and Rhodesia now Zimbabwe from the Games.  

1980 saw the United States and its allies miss the Moscow Olympics for the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. In retaliation, Soviet Union and the eastern Block stayed away from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

The    illegal use of   performance   enhancing drugs was front and center during the 1988 Seoul, S Korea Olympics, following Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson’s gold medal win in the 100 m.

Who can forget  the  brutal carnage  that took place  in the 1972 Munich   Olympics,  in which  11  innocent Israeli athletes fell victims  to fanatic Palestinian gunmen.

Terrorists struck again in the 1996 Olympics held in the United States. The bomb that detonated at the Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta claimed two lives and injured many.

Despite everything, the Olympic Games has kept moving forward, expanding   its   horizon, and at the same time has set the bar high and challenged athletes to live up to it.

Yesteryears Olympians like   Mark Spitz(USA), Nadia Comaneci ( Romania), Larsa Semyonova  Latynia(Soviet Union),Takashi Ono ( Japan),Matthew Biondi (USA), Carl Lewis( USA), Bera  Caslavska(Czechoslovkia), Kristan Otto( Germany),  Jesse Owen (USA), Edwin Moses (USA),  Greg Louganis (USA), Michael Phelps( USA) and many more are synonymous with  athletic excellence and brilliance.

They   are the ideal, perfect   and superb role models for all aspiring athletes. The Olympics   was long dominated   by   athletes from the United States and Soviet Union who were superb   and   outstanding. 

They   accounted for the most medals until the emergence of China.

In the history of the Olympic Games the United States has won the most number of medals than any country in the world. China, however,   has   firmly   established   itself as a premier global sporting powerhouse.

In the last   2008 Olympics held in China, Chinese athletes’ reigned supreme and finished second behind the USA in the medal standings, falling short by just 10 medals.

Over the years, China   has produced a plethora of world class athletes who have mesmerized   the world with their   superb   prowess and accomplishments. The London   Olympiad should be no exception for the Chinese.

The best of the best athletes from 200 plus nations   will converge   under   one   gigantic roof to compete against one another in a little over a week.

For   two weeks, the Olympic village will render athletes, coaches and officials a rare   opportunity to mingle, interact and know each other. More   importantly, it promotes universal peace, brotherhood, and oneness, at a time when the world is deeply divided and fractured.

Nepal’s   Olympic Games journey began in Tokyo, Japan in 1964.The illustrious group of athletes consisting of marathoners Bhupendra Bahadur KC and Ganga Bahadur Thapa, along with pugilists Namsing Thapa, Bhim Bahadur Thapa, Ram Prasad Gurung and Om Prasad Pun had the rare distinction to represent Nepal.

Since then we have participated in every edition except the 1968 Olympics.  Not surprisingly, our   participation has been restricted to   a handful of events like short and long distance running, boxing, shooting, swimming, weight- lifting, judo and taekwondo.

In the two Olympics held in Montreal, Canada in 1976 (Baikuntha Manandhar) and Barcelona, Spain in 1992 (Hari Rokaya), we had a lone athlete represent Nepal in men’s marathon.

The country   sent its largest contingent of 17 athletes to the Seoul, South Korea Olympics in 1988.  In the annals of   Nepali Olympians, one name towers above all others: that of marathoner Baikuntha Manandhar.

A   committed and passionate marathoner, Manandhar   remains a role model for today’s   generation of athletes. In   his   long   glorious career, he   competed in   four  Olympic Games ; 1976 Montreal , Canada,1980 Moscow,  USSR (37),1984 Los Angeles, the United States  and 1988  Seoul, South Korea.

His best   result was at the Moscow Games, finishing in 37^th position. He is the first and only   Nepali athlete to have competed in four successive Olympics.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Bidhan Lama made national headlines, following his bronze medal success in taekwondo, which was then an exhibition sport.  

While the   countdown   for   the 2012   London Olympics is in full swing, uncertainty   and confusion persists over our   participation because of the ongoing feud between the National Sports Council (NSC) and Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC).

A fortnight ago when   NSC   board   meeting   recommended dissolving parallel NOCs led by Dhurba B Pradhan and Rukuma S Rana respectively, all hell broke loose, complicating the matter even further.  

Should there be a compromise, our small band of athletes can   become part of the world’s greatest show.

In all probability, sprinters Tilaram Tharu and Pramila Rijal will participate in the men and women’s 100 M respectively. Likewise, Sneh Rana has been picked for the women 10 M air rifle through a wild card entry.     

Also swimmers Prasidaha Jung Shah and Shreya  Dhital are to compete in the men and women’s 100 m freestyle, thanks to the courtesy  of FINA( International governing body of swimming, diving , water polo,, synchronized swimming and open  water swimming).

As   a matter of fact, our presence at the Olympics   has been merely   symbolic and inconsequential. This will not   change, at least   not in our life time, especially   with the way things are going.

I say this because our government and politicians    doesn’t   give a damn about sport development and athletes’ plight. And   they have brazenly allowed   their surrogates   erode the system to further their cause.

Ready yourself for the Olympic Games and   enjoy every bit of action that unfolds before your eyes.