Countback before the final round

At the Village in Atlanta,the boys and I saw a McDonalds outlet for the very first time. It would be an understatement if I say that they were tempted to dig into a chicken burger. The trio stuffed themselves like there was no tomorrow. Gurcharan,who usually found it hard to put on weight,shot up by four kilos to 81kgs in two days thanks to those steaks. They won nothing,unlike an Indian tennis player.

There is one incident involving Leander Paes in Atlanta that changed the way my boxers approached a big tournament from there on. A day after he won the bronze medal,Dr Vece Paes invited me to meet his son. I decided to take my boxers along so they could meet an Olympic medallist from the same country. But Leander was nowhere to be found,for he was busy training a day after his event had concluded. We then realised that an Olympian with medal dreams never switches off.

Sydney: Counting chickens before Gurcharan hatched

The most heart-breaking of all my Olympic ventures. I will remember Sydney 2000 for all the wrong reasons,especially with the way fate dealt its cards to Gurcharan Singh. Gurcharan was the man who singlehandedly brought amateur boxing to fame in India with his surge to the quarterfinals in Sydney. Unfortunately,he also became the man who singlehandedly took the sport back by four years by losing so narrowly at that stage.

As all of us remember so clearly,Gurcharan was leading by a point with just ten seconds remaining on the clock. Standing by his side,I had already having visions of his semi-final bout. Then he lost,and the rest of us lost our sleep permanently.

It was a very difficult time from thereon. We had to ensure that Gurcharan had at least one friend by his side for the next few days. We feared for him. He did not speak to anybody for 48 hours and our group had slunk into depression. I felt his pain deeply. I have always hoped since that if the almighty helps me change one moment of my life,it will be the last ten seconds of Gurcharans bout. For him,for us,for India.

Athens: The land where it all began

On the boxing front,we did not do much at Athens. Still,it is a place of monumental importance for me as it was here that Vijender Singh,all of 18 then,took his first few steps towards understanding the enormity of the Games.

I will always remember the day when we went to take our first look of the Olympic site in the city. Just when we were about to leave,we were stopped by young Viju,who wanted more time to soak in the surroundings. He spent more than two hours there. He was so excited as he was standing on the piece of land where the Olympics originated.

After seeing him,and his child-like earnesty in Athens,his feat in Beijing came as no surprise.

Beijing: Losing their way before Vijender found it

A few days before the boxing event began,the boys and I decided to take a walk around the city of Beijing. We managed to get out of the Games Village alright,but after already having traveled a fair distance,we realised that it would be impossible to get back to the hostel as none of us knew the Chinese language. And lost we did get. It took us two hours of sign language to find our way back and that was an adventure none of us would ever forget.

That,however,was the last time we got lost. For just a couple of days later,Vijender helped us Indians find our way,and how.

With so many Indians in with a shot of medals,I found it very hard to sleep at night. Akhil Kumar saw my anxiety and told me: “Dont worry sir,at least one of us will win India its first boxing medal.” Then,with noone but Vijender left with a shot,I grew weary again. On the morning of Vijus semi-final bout,I was pacing up and down the corridor when he met me and said: “Tusi chinta na karya karo sir. Tuhade munde hai chinta karne liye (Dont take tension sir,we boys will take it for you).” He did,and it changed our lives forever.

The night that Vijender returned with the bronze,it was one helluva party. Nobody wanted the celebrations to end. I often thought about Gurcharan and Sydney then,and about how everything had come a full circle. I just wanted to soak in the moment,so that it lasts a lifetime. I wanted Gurcharan to be there and be proud of what we had done. We had completed what he had started. And this time,noone could deny us of our first boxing Olympic medal.

(As told to Nitin Sharma)