Indian Olympic team get donated uniforms in Vancouver

[Selma Shirazi]

Indian Olympic team get donated uniforms in Vancouver

Shiva Keshavan hopes to rank in the top 10 of the men's singles luge

Vancouver's Indo-Canadian community has rallied to provide funding and uniforms for India's three-man Winter Olympics team, local press reports say.

The owner of a sports shop donated track suits for the opening ceremonies, saying the rush was on to get the Indian flag embroidered onto the gear.

And a local Punjabi radio station is raising funds for the team - made up of a luger and two skiers.

The luge used by captain Shiva Keshavan is also donated - by lawyers in India.

Five lawyers chipped in 450,000 rupees ($9,700; £6,200) after Keshavan's old luge - held together by duct tape and screws - broke during training in November.

Alpine skier Jamyang Namgial and cross-country skier Tashi Lundup round out the team.

'You're kidding'

TJ Johal, the owner of Sports Unlimited in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, told public broadcaster CBC that he was shocked to hear the team did not have proper uniforms for the opening ceremonies.

"To feel this kind of support from our community on the other side of the world from India, it is such a great feeling"
Shiva Keshavan
Three-time Olympic luger

"My first reaction was, you're kidding me. They're from India, the land of clothing, and they have no clothes to wear? But that's just how it is in Third World countries," he said.

Shushma Datt, the owner of radio station RJ1200 - which bills itself as Vancouver's Bollywood Station - told the BBC it had raised 8,000 Canadian dollars (£4,875) at an impromptu fundraising event on Wednesday night, and that donations were still coming into a bank account set up for the athletes.

Team captain Shiva Keshavan, 28, who is competing in his fourth Winter Olympics, said he was grateful for all the help.

"To feel this kind of support from our community on the other side of the world from India, it is such a great feeling," he told television network CTV.

Mr Keshavan said he received his first funding of $20,000 (£12,800) from the Indian government last year, after more than a decade of competing.

[Selma Shirazi]

Originally Posted by Selma Shirazi

Indian Olympic team get donated uniforms in Vancouver

Shiva Keshavan hopes to rank in the top 10 of the men's singles luge

Vancouver's Indo-Canadian community has rallied to provide funding and uniforms for India's three-man Winter Olympics team, local press reports say.

The owner of a sports shop donated track suits for the opening ceremonies, saying the rush was on to get the Indian flag embroidered onto the gear.

And a local Punjabi radio station is raising funds for the team - made up of a luger and two skiers.

The luge used by captain Shiva Keshavan is also donated - by lawyers in India.

Five lawyers chipped in 450,000 rupees ($9,700; £6,200) after Keshavan's old luge - held together by duct tape and screws - broke during training in November.

Alpine skier Jamyang Namgial and cross-country skier Tashi Lundup round out the team.

'You're kidding'

TJ Johal, the owner of Sports Unlimited in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey, told public broadcaster CBC that he was shocked to hear the team did not have proper uniforms for the opening ceremonies.

"To feel this kind of support from our community on the other side of the world from India, it is such a great feeling"
Shiva Keshavan
Three-time Olympic luger

"My first reaction was, you're kidding me. They're from India, the land of clothing, and they have no clothes to wear? But that's just how it is in Third World countries," he said.

Shushma Datt, the owner of radio station RJ1200 - which bills itself as Vancouver's Bollywood Station - told the BBC it had raised 8,000 Canadian dollars (£4,875) at an impromptu fundraising event on Wednesday night, and that donations were still coming into a bank account set up for the athletes.

Team captain Shiva Keshavan, 28, who is competing in his fourth Winter Olympics, said he was grateful for all the help.

"To feel this kind of support from our community on the other side of the world from India, it is such a great feeling," he told television network CTV.

Mr Keshavan said he received his first funding of $20,000 (£12,800) from the Indian government last year, after more than a decade of competing.

Link: BBC News - Indian Olympic team get donated uniforms in Vancouver

[Solid Beast]

When I heard it during the ceremony I was shocked to.

[A1Kaid]

What were they thinking?

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Solid Beast

When I heard it during the ceremony I was shocked to.

I didn't know about it till I read it here. I'm shocked and surprized aswell.
I really felt sad about this part: "Five lawyers chipped in 450,000 rupees ($9,700; £6,200) after Keshavan's old luge - held together by duct tape and screws - broke during training in November."
Still I admire the spirit of this three time contender to participate with broken equippement.

[vinod2070]

Someone should lose his job!

[Adux]

Wait, what do you expect when someone as corrupt as Suresh Kalmadi is on top, he has been the president of IOC, for a nearly a decade or more I believe. This is a country with Trillion dollar economy and more than 300 billion in reserves.

[Lady Macbeth]

Its funny how some of our respected members are quick to talk about Indian economy but cant seem to invest a few ''Dallars'' for equipments used in an event that is one of the most watched events in the world....''The Winter Olypics'' .....

[vinod2070]

Originally Posted by Lady Macbeth

Its funny how some of our respected members are quick to talk about Indian economy but cant seem to invest a few ''Dallars'' for equipments used in an event that is one of the most watched events in the world....''The Winter Olypics'' .....

While it shows that India still has some really mediocre and incompetent people in some important positions, winter Olympics is not at all big in India! No one knows when it comes and goes!

I thnk it would be a stretch to call it "an event that is one of the most watched events in the world....". No one cares about it in most of the world except few Western countries.

[Selma Shirazi]

Few western countries? Winter Olympics attract hundreds of millions viewers all over the developped countries.

NBC Hopes For 200 Million Winter Olympics Viewers, Topping Torino and Salt Lake City

With 200 million viewers, the Vancouver Olympics — the first to be shot entirely in high-definition — would surpass the 184 million unduplicated viewers for the 2006 Winter Games from Torino, Italy, and the 187 million who witnessed at least part of the action four years earlier from Salt Lake City.

Relative to the Winter Games, that would still trail the 204 million unique viewers for the 1994 Olympics from Lillehammer, Norway, which benefited from the notorious Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding figure-skating intrigue.

For the more expansive Summer Games, NBC drew 215 million viewers to the 2008 Olympics from Beijing, the most-viewed event in U.S. TV history.

Link: http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/30...ake-city/40572