Olympics: At Indian contingent’s apartment at Games Village, video games, sleeping pods and a ‘wall of positivity’

Dhinidhi Desinghu, the youngest Indian in the contingent has a message for her 116 teammates: “Remember that you, me and everyone else around you are amazing.”

The 14-year-old’s heartwarming note, ending with a smiling emoji and hand-written in cursive, is pasted on the ‘Wall of Positivity’. Opposite to it, colourful hand-painted Indian motifs adorn a board. The adjoining room is a gaming zone — FIFA and Minecraft, the two big draws. For those simply wanting to relax, there are three sleeping pods, an ice bath machine or a masseur on call.

Welcome to Team India’s building inside the Athletes’ Village, which the 117 athletes will call home for the next fortnight — for many, possibly the best fortnight of their lives.

(Clockwise From Left): The ‘wall of positivity’ where India’s athletes have shared their messages; Mathias Boe looks at a colour motif welcoming India; Main dining hall. (Credit: Mihir Vasavda)

India has approximately 30 apartments in the seven-storey block, draped vibrantly in the tricolour on the outside. Staying bang opposite them is Rafael Nadal’s Spain. Their neighbours on the right are Italy while on the left is Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

On the eve of Friday’s opening ceremony, the mood is cheery and relaxed — the tension and pressure of the actual Games itself can wait till Saturday, when the competitions begin.

Shuttler HS Prannoy is walking around with a laundry bag but intends on ‘chilling’ at a secluded space by the river that he has spotted. Boxer Amit Panghal has just had an underwhelming lunch. For dinner, Panghal intends on asking his support team to deliver Indian food — the good old dal and roti — at the Village, like he’s been doing for the last few days.

Doubles badminton star Tanisha Crasto can’t wait to check out the salon. “They have a great blow dry, I hear,” she says. Hockey team defenders Sumit and Jugraj Singh have no such spots yet. “The whole village is so much fun, we can pass our time anywhere!” says Sumit and heads off in the direction of the recreation zone.

Still a minnow at the Olympics, India haven’t had a lot of say in choosing where they want to live. Some of the big nations, though, have had that luxury.

Tanisha Crasto and Lakshya Sen at the Games Village. (Credit : Mihir Vasavda)

China, for instance, wanted ‘peace’ and got their buildings in one of the quietest corners of the Village. British athletes are living on a small island complex on the Seine. France, as hosts, were the first to get their pick and they got three entire buildings decorated in their colours. The USA, meanwhile, didn’t want their athletes to walk a lot to the dining hall and so, they are located right next to the main dining area.

Although the Indian athletes aren’t too amused with the limited options of their choice, the dining area has five different halls for global cuisine, halal food, Asian meals and French food. “There was rajma today but it got over even before we could get there,” says Tanisha.

Grab-and-go counters are set up at different locations in the village and a boulangerie produces more than 2,000 baguettes, croissants and pain au chocolat daily.

Not too far from there, film studios have been converted into training areas — American superstar LeBron James, for instance, is training where parts of Emily in Paris have been filmed.

Inputs of 41 architects were taken into consideration while designing this village. Despite all the fun and thrills, the modest accommodation has drawn flak. Panghal says the rooms are tinier than the previous Olympics, an observation many other athletes across nations have made about these ‘minimalistic’ Games. The units consist of three rooms, each fitting two single ‘cardboard’ beds and two bathrooms.

Transport a concern

Transport services have emerged as another concern. “It has not been following the schedule. On match days, I might leave very early so that I am not late for my match,” Tanisha says.

It’s an issue that’s been taken up by India’s contingent leaders — chef de mission Gagan Narang and deputy CDM Shiva Keshavan, both Olympians themselves.

Narang, who won the bronze medal at the London Olympics in 10m air rifle shooting, laughs that the complications of managing logistical challenges have made him ‘appreciate the task of the administrators even more’.

Gagan Narang, India’s chef de mission, at the contingent office. (Credit : Mihir Vasavda)

“We have kept everything athlete-centric,” Narang says. “For instance, when it comes to guest passes to enter the Village, the priority is given to the medical team followed by athletes’ personal support staff. After that, if there are any spare passes, we give them to the guests. It’s most important that the smallest of requirements of the athletes is taken care of.”

Keshavan adds: “Gaming zones to unwind, sleeping pods to relax… As athletes, we haven’t seen anything like this when we competed. We wanted to make it a feel-good place.”

And it starts with the ‘Wall of Positivity’ at the entrance of the apartment. More than a dozen athletes from different sports have shared their messages on the board. There are a couple of ‘Chak de’; a coach reminds them of how this could be a ‘life-changing experience’; another note tells them to ‘smile’. At the bottom, table tennis star Manika Batra issues a rallying cry: “Go for it, India!”

The moment they have prepared for all their lives is now just one sleep away.

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