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Olympic Gold Quest – Carrier of a Billion Dreams!!
“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspect of their lives.”
- William James (American Philosopher and Psychologist)
This quote from Monsieur James reflects the true power of a revolution. The power of the masses, whenever overlooked, has led to acrimonious exits for the tyrants. Be it Louis XVI and the French Revolution or the massive outburst against Caesar’s betrayer, Cassius; the power of the masses rules the world.
Pardon me for the digression, but it was necessary to understand the gravity of the situation, we face today. We are a country of a billion people and we have managed just, just ONE individual Olympic gold medal in our history. Blame it on the lackadaisical approach of our Government and the concerned authorities or the ‘chalta hai’ (It’s okay) attitude of us, Indians, we languish in the bottom when it comes to sporting achievements. We can play the blame game till eternity, but the truth will still stare coldly, right in our faces, WE ARE A COUNTRY OF A BILLION PEOPLE WITH ONE INDIVIDUAL OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL!! I writhe in pain whenever I see smaller nations like Kenya, Ethiopia, North Korea bring glory to their nations, while we celebrate a solitary medal. No, it’s not that I am plain envious, it’s just that being a proud Indian, I want to experience and share that feeling of the ultimate sporting achievement – Olympics glory – with my countrymen.
The Devised Plan…
Enter Olympics Gold Quest (OGQ), a knight in the shining armour for me and a billion other Indians like me, who share the same dream of watching India reach the pinnacle of sports. The brainchild of Indian sporting legends, ace cueist Geet Sethi and badminton superstar Prakash Padukone, who like us believe strongly in India’s talent pool and its raw potential, OGQ is a flagship program of the Foundation of Sports and Games (Not-for Profit Section 25 company).
Mission: To assist potential athletes to achieve their dream and win Olympic gold medals.
Vision: To scout for potential medal talent, to help identify areas of support, to work with all stakeholders to aid deserving talent.
OGQ strives to bridge the present gap between the Indian athletes and their counterparts worldwide, by providing world-class
coaching and state-of-the-art training facilities so as to ensure a level playing field for our sportspersons.
OGQ strives to compliment and support the existent efforts of the Indian Government and various sporting federations in order to ensure Olympic glory for India. It identifies the best and the most-deserving medal prospects of the country with a proven track record and assist them; technically, financially and emotionally.
OGQ has brought together many like-minded compatriots with business acumen, eminent sportspersons, sportswriters and able talent scouts to form the nucleus of their team. This support team understands the training requirements of the aspiring athletes and arrange for the requisite funds to finance them.
The Building Blocks…
Had it not been for the nerves of steel concealed beneath the calm exteriors of Sethi and Padukone, OGQ would be just-another idea waiting to perish under the intricacies of Indian bureaucracy.
The system which was seemingly beyond repairs, the officials who were gnawing away at the last crumbs of hope, and to top it all, the dual parasites of red-tapism and corruption; we were just bracing ourselves for the Indian sporting apocalypse. But every cloud has a silver lining as far as optimists are concerned and Sethi and Padukone were not willing to surrender, as yet.
The Y2k bug, apparently, stung both of them as they rolled out on a millennium mission, a mission to bring Olympic glory to our cricket-crazy nation. The cobwebs that had settled around the system gave way to a new shiny streamliner as they commenced their cruise, with the pearl-esque dream glinting in their eyes. To quote the dynamic duo –
“Why should we wait for the system? Why can’t we find and nurture champions ourselves?”
The Three Gold-Medal-teers – Sethi, Padukone & Rasquinha!!
And thus the journey started with their first colleague being the enthusiastic Arjuna Awardee, former Indian hockey captain, Viren Rasquinha, a fresh ISB graduate. He turned down a plush corporate job offer to ride along in ‘THE OLYMPIC CRUISE.’
What started as a private enterprise to provide a sustained push to the athletes’ Olympic aspirations has turned into a MASS MOVEMENT with the induction of many like-minded Indians.
As we all are well aware, when us Indians work towards a common goal, sooner or later, we harvest success in our backyard. And as the great British orator and PM, Winston Churchill put it –
“Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us.”
The Men who Matter: Team OGQ…
Team OGQ boasts of a bunch of like-minded eminent Indians who share the same dream as the other billions of Indians, to take India to the zenith of world sports. With the able executive committee of OGQ at helm, the D-day is not far.
Geet Sethi(Founder & Director): 8 times World Billiards Champion, Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee
Prakash Padukone(Founder & Director): All England Badminton Champion, Padma Shri
Niraj Bajaj(Director): 4 times National Table Tennis Champion, Arjuna Awardee and Director, Bajaj Group of Companies
Leander Paes(Director): 11 times Grand Slam Winner
Vishwanathan Anand(Director): Undisputed World Chess Champion since 2007, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna & Padma Vibhushan Awardee
R. Ramaraj(Director): Senior Advisor, Sequoia Capital
Shitin Desai(Director): Vice Chairman, DSP Merrill Lynch
Rakesh Khanna(Director): Founding Partner, Ambit RSM
Neeraj Bharadwaj(Director): India Head, Apex Partners
Deepika Padukone(Director): Eminent bollywood actress
Viren Rasquinha(COO): Former India Hockey Captain, Olympian & Arjuna Awardee
How OGQ works…
OGQ has short-listed six disciplines in which Indian athletes have the strongest potential namely –
Shooting, Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling, Archery, Badminton.
The executive team meets once every 2-3 months to chalk out the future action plan and the requirements of the athletes they support. Ranging from coaching, purchasing equipments, medical care, fitness training, acquiring physiotherapists and psychoanalysts – the board takes care of it all. The Board’s primary aim is to ensure that the athletes have only their performances to worry about and not have any undue secondary concerns.
The team has devised an astute selection and implementation procedure and coupled them with the requisite funding to finance the activities.
Selection Procedure for the Athletes:
- Short-listing potential medal-winners with requisite credentials.
- In-depth research on the athletes, their sport and their will and potential to win an Olympic medal.
- Final selections of athletes post a board clearance.
- Entire process under strict vigil & review.
Tracking Process for Athletes:
In order to avoid any lackadaisical approach from the athletes after getting the funding and to constantly review their progress, OGQ has chalked-out a tracking process for the athletes.
- Database maintained to record performances of funded athletes.
- Measuring performances against benchmarks set for Olympic Gold.
- Periodic visits by OGQ experts to review training and preparations.
- Corrective measures supervised by Sports Advisory Committee.
Utilization of Funds:
- To train abroad with the best.
- To obtain state-of-the-art training facilities and sporting gear.
- To participate in world-class competitions to gain vital exposure.
- To exploit scientific aids to brush up the technical aspects of the sport.
- To include planned nutrition and dietary habits.
With an experienced team at the helm of OGQ and a proper system in place to aid our aspiring athletes, we are looking at a REVOLUTION that is sure to inspire each and every corner of our sports-loving country. We have to join hands and stand united and persevere until the flame of personal inspiration engulfs us. As rightly and famously said-
“Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.”
- Marriane Williamson(International spiritual author)
London Dreams…
“Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.”
Mission 2012: Target- London Glory!
This enlightening quote by Abraham Lincoln is a verbal embodiment of the principles that OGQ stands for. So, to move forward on its dream journey, OGQ launched the most ambitious leg of its Mission 2012: London Dreams.
To throw some light on this project of OGQ, Viren Rasquinha(the project CEO) quelled all doubts as to the preparation of the athletes for the London Summer Olympics 2012. To quote the man himself on the launch of the project –
“There is just a little over a year left. We decided to bring some of the most promising athletes in our team together, and let them interact with each-other, and listen to some of our champions.”
It was an inspiring evening for the Olympic aspirants as they had a lifetime opportunity to meet MM Somaya, an Indian Hockey Olympic Gold-Medallist. As the ultimate dream of a sportsperson, the revered Olympic Gold medal of Somaya treaded its way past the hall with glistening eyes doting over its purity, MM Somaya narrated –
“This is it. This is what it’s all about……
Break every problem down to its bare minimum. Simplify it. It doesn’t remain a problem after that.”
With the Olympic Gold clearly in their sights, the London Dreamers are in no mood to rest until they conquer the elusive final frontier – THE OLYMPIC GOLD.
The OGQ Players who have done us Proud, already…
Many of us would be surprised to know that OGQ has been the source of the successes of sporting icons like Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom, Gagan Narang, Tejaswini Sawant, to name a few.
Ace shuttler Saina is funded by OGQ!!
OGQ has been the building block of many of the recent successes that India has enjoyed in the sporting world. Be it Mary Kom’s unprecedented 5th consecutive World Boxing title or ace shooter Tejaswini Sawant’s world record in the 50m rifle category, OGQ has done it all. But the impressive performance of the Indian contingent in the Commonwealth Games 2010 stands out as a testament to the significant contribution OGQ has already made in Indian sports.
Gagan Narang – Eyes set on Olympic Gold!!
10 OGQ athletes took part in CWG 2010 and 8 emerged as medal winners. A remarkable achievement indeed! The hero of the OGQ squad was shooter GAGAN NARANG, with his impressive haul of 4 golds in the rifle events. The icing on the cake was his 10m Air Rifle World Record, where he beat India’s only individual Olympic Gold-medallist ABHINAV BINDRA, well, till date. Saina Nehwal went about her business in pressure-cooker circumstances where she captured the Badminton crown from the jaws of defeat in the final.
Apart from the accomplished superstars, OGQ’s youngsters were on a roll as well with relatively-less known shooters like Vijay Kumar and Omkar Singh bagging the limelight with an impressive haul of 3 golds and 1 silver, each.
Well, the ultimate aim of OGQ is Olympic Gold Medal but the starring performances of their squad have promised a bright future and maybe an impressive Olympic haul as well.
‘Power a Champion’ and our contributions…
The OGQ team!
Another rabbit from the hat of the dynamic COO, Viren Rasquinha, ‘Power a Champion’ is a novel idea with an aim to get at least a million Indians to contribute at least Rs.100 each a month. Within 3 months, it has received a commitment of Rs. 10lakh. The sum will be used in the afore-mentioned framework of OGQ to impart better facilities to our flagbearers.
As Mahatma Gandhi famously said –
“You may never know what results come out of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.”
Taking our cue from the Father of our Nation, we all can and we all should join hands in OGQ’s quest to attain the sporting pinnacle for India. OGQ has an aim of making a real difference to the Indian sport and it’s in our hands to keep that fire burning. We can either make this a fine program with the benefits reaching a minority of sportspersons or turn this into a REVOLUTION that can capture the imagination of the whole nation. As John F. Kennedy said –
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Well, this is our time. This is our chance to show the world once and for all, that when India rises from the ashes, we make the world our stage. If you are interested in joining hands in transforming our country’s future, do join in OGQ’s quest for Gold. If we let this spirit die, we will have ourselves to blame for every sarcastic comment that floats our great country’s way. As they say Be the change you want to see in the world! Let us show to the world that India was, is and will always remain the best in whatever we, Indians, set our sights on. For making contributions to OGQ, follow the detailed instructions here.
For any queries, contact at [email protected].
As OGQ’s motto goes
It takes just 6 gms of Gold to lift the worth of a nation
Come Join Us in our quest for GOLD!
BE A PART OF THIS REVOLUTION. REMEMBER WE CAN AND WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
I have contacted OGQ. Will you??
