Donated uniforms puts spotlight on Indians at Games

One of the smallest contingents at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics,it was easy enough to spot the Indians when they marched around the BC Place Stadium during the opening ceremony....

One of the smallest contingents at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics,it was easy enough to spot the Indians when they marched around the BC Place Stadium during the opening ceremony. More than the size,though,it was their clothes that attracted the global medias attention.

Flag-bearer Shiva Keshavan was in a brown overcoat and black trousers,while four others were in grey track suits. To add more colour to the picture,Keshvans father,who also participated in the parade,was in off-white pants and a beige blazer. Mismatched,you may call it,but even that,allegedly,was donated. Three-man Indian team gets donated uniform, said CBC,Canadian public broadcaster. The Globe and Mail reported: Indias hard-luck team get a makeover from caring Canadians.

According to media reports,the uniform that had been given to the team for the opening ceremony was in poor condition and the Indo-Canadian community chipped in to help.

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My first reaction was,youre kidding me. They are from India,the land of clothing and they have no clothes to wear. But thats how it is in the Third World countries, TJ Johal,owner of a sportswear company that provided tracksuits,was quoted as saying by CBC.

The expatriate community also reportedly raised $8000 for the team.

Utterly rubbish

The Winter Games Federation of India and the chef-de-mission in Vancouver denied the reports. Its utterly rubbish. We spent Rs 29,000 per person on the uniforms. They were made in Norway. I dont know what the foreign media is reporting. They are sullying our image.

No one donated anything to us,and we dont need any donations either. As a matter of fact,the athletes came out in tracksuits provided to them by us. Since Keshvan was the flag-bearer,he could turn up in different attire, Indias chef-de-mission RK Gupta told The Indian Express from Vancouver.