12 o’clock is best for shooting!

The second finding was more technical. You can approach bull’s eye from four possible directions: up, down, left or right — 12, 6, 9 or 3 o’clock. ‘‘Medical science’’, he explained, ‘‘says that body-eye coordination and the spinal movement are most suited to an approach from 12 o’clock.’’ Bhattacharjee’s statistical analysis tells him the Chinese are the most consistent in approaching bull’s eye from 12 o’clock, by moving the gun vertically downwards. ‘‘Indian shooters seem to prefer the left or right approach’’, he said. Bhattacharjee cautioned that his research was far from over. While he does speak to Indian shooters off and on, he intends to give them a formal report only after he has done all his fieldwork.

ROME-ING SUPPORT

It is not unusual to find white faces cheering for Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi at the tennis stadium. Years of living in America have given the Indian duo enough time to win friends and influence spectators in the West.

In the first round match against Roddick and Fish, among the loudest cheering for the Indians came from a jovial American woman who threw a cap at Bhupathi, identifying herself as his friend ‘‘Billy’s sister’’. A more sedate but regular supporter is a man in a red cap, who spent the second round match seated next to Vece Paes. Mose Navarra is Bhupathi’s Italian coach — his other Indian connection is that he’s married to model Sheetal Malhar. With Rajyavardhan Rathore using Perazzi guns, the Italian influence on India’s Olympic medals may be considerable. Who says sport is ever far away from politics?

AMAZONS AT OLYMPIA

About the most sacred moment of the Olympics was the commencement of the shot put event on the grounds of Olympia, where it all began in 776 BC. The Games were ‘‘coming home’’, literally, for the first time since AD 384, when Roman emperor Theodosius II banned the Ancient Olympics as a violent pagan ritual. The presence of women shot putters means female sportspersons are making their debut at Olympia in 2004.

Women competitors were banned from the Ancient Olympics and competed in their own games, called the Herae, in honour of chief goddess Hera.

HORSE DE COMBAT

A competitor has died at the Games. Over and Over, a Belgian horse, was taking part in the cross-country equestrian event when he fell and hurt himself. It was quite a bad injury, the poor horse had broken his femur. Rather than reduce him to the life of a cripple, the medical team decided it was best to put Over and Over to sleep. In a quiet corner of Athens will sleep this Olympian martyr.