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Gagan Narang talks about the challenges of being India’s chef de mission at Paris Olympics, the Vinesh Phogat episode, co-ordination with the contingent and more. read more
 "‘Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra and their camaraderie are a testament to what the Olympic Games are all about – peace and equality’")
Gagan Narang was India's chef de mission at the Paris Olympics. Image: Instagram
As the dust settles on India’s 2024 Paris Olympics campaign and a new Olympic cycle begins, there is a lot to both appreciate as well as to reflect on and introspect about.
There’s a lot of talk about whether India’s performance at the Paris Olympics this time was a good one or not. It’s important that you come to your own informed conclusion, based on the Indian athletes’ performances that you saw and after understanding what it takes to win a medal or get close to winning one at the Olympics, in different disciplines – let no one else decide that for you.
Read | Gagan Narang interview on First Sports
But what about all the things that happened behind the scenes in Paris, that we didn’t get to see? The challenges that the people in charge of the Indian contingent faced, what Vinesh Phogat was like the night she and her team were trying to lose the weight to try and compete in the final, the camaraderie between Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra, also what are the demands of the job of top administrator of an Olympic contingent?
To try and find out more about this, I spoke to the chef de mission of the Indian contingent at the Paris Games - London 2012 Olympic medallist, four time Olympian and champion shooter, Gagan Narang.
Narang, who also won five Asian Games medals and multiple Commonwealth Games medals, along with a World Championship bronze, is also a Padma Shri recipient and was also given the country’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2010.
As chef de mission, Gagan reached the athletes’ village in Paris before the arrival of the first batch of Indian athletes.
In this interview Gagan talks about the challenges of being chef de mission, what made his job in Paris easier, the Vinesh Phogat episode, how he feels the Paris Games were the best ever for India – both in terms of the coordination between the various stakeholders and the contingent’s overall performance, and more.
Excerpts…
You have been a champion shooter, an Olympic medallist, you are a mentor and run an academy, but in Paris this time you had a new role. What was the experience of being the chef de mission of the Indian contingent at the Paris Games like?
It was an honour to be able to give back to sport and sportspersons and felt special. It was a memorable experience. It was a different kind of pressure I faced there in Paris, and I must say I enjoyed the pressure as an athlete more (laughs).
As chef de mission, what were the biggest challenges you faced at the Paris Games?
There were several challenges but we had unparalleled support from the government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) who ensured our athletes had all possible support. Anything we needed, even in the last hour, was provided. These Games were perhaps the best coordinated effort across stake holders and this in a way made things smooth. At no point did we say – ‘no this can’t be done.’ The entire team worked round the clock to ensure our athletes didn’t lack what they needed to perform on the Olympics stage.
The Indian Embassy in France and the Olympic attache also gave us a lot of support in handling various local logistical issues. The ambassador HE Jawed Ashraf and the air attache, who was also the Olympic attache, helped us with things like local coordination and procurement of AC units, etc. They were very accommodating and swift in their actions and that helped us take care of the needs of the contingent.
For the benefit and knowledge of our readers can you talk a little about what goes into being a chef de mission (CDM) at an Olympics. What do you have to prepare for, is it a round the clock job? Did you manage to get any sleep at all in Paris?
Yes, it is a round the clock job. There were days when I barely got any sleep. I entered the Games Village a few days before the first set of Indian athletes arrived. But, the job as CDM began while I was in India itself and as soon as I stepped into the village, we got cracking.
We had to read the extensive CDMs manual provided by the organising committee which gave me an overview of the facilities and resources available at hand so that they could be allocated in the most efficient way for the benefit of the athletes. I needed to ensure all the facilities for our contingent, any special requirements have to be looked into before the teams arrive. Every day there used to be some concerns about athletes needing something in their rooms or their support staff facing issues to enter the village. All these matters would come to me and we had to find solutions and think and act quickly on them. But like I said, this was perhaps the best Games in terms of a coordinated effort by various stake holders and this made it easier for me.
As far as the Indian contingent’s performances go – I want to start of course by talking about the shooting with you — as CDM and also as an Olympic medallist yourself what would be your honest assessment of how the shooting contingent, which had an unprecedented number of quotas at 21 this time, did in Paris. We of course had two historic bronze medals via Manu and then Manu and Sarabjot and then Swapnil’s incredible bronze. Arjun came so close in the 10m air rifle event. Your take on the shooting contingent’s performance…
Shooting certainly gave us a head start in the medal tally. I was overwhelmed with happiness to see Manu, Sarabjot and Swapnil win medals in Paris. I remember competing alongside Swapnil in the 2017 Commonwealth Championship in the Gold Coast, where he claimed the bronze medal after giving me a tough fight for the silver medal. It was truly emotional to see him reaching this level and achieving his dream of winning an Olympic medal for India, and that too, on the same date that I had won mine (Olympic bronze medal) in 2012 in London (July 30). It almost feels like destiny.
I am so proud of Arjun Babuta (finished fourth in men’s 10m Air Rifle final) and Ramita (finished 7th in women’s 10m Air Rifle final) as well, who came close to podium finishes in the tough 10m Air Rifle event. This is perhaps the greatest show by Indian shooters in the history of the Games, and hats off to Manu for showing nerves of steel to win back-to-back medals. All these shooters are young and have a long way to go in the sport. I expect them to bring more laurels at world events and return in Los Angeles 2028 (next edition of the Olympics) to win.
What were some of the conversations you had with the shooters before their events – Can you recall/share a few?
Look, at this level they know what it takes to win. They are not new to winning. I was only pep-talking with some of them ahead of their events and reminding them how fantastic they are and that we are all with them, regardless of the result. I think this assurance is needed to make the athlete feel confident so that he or she can go in with the right attitude, to win.
What were the first conversations with Manu, Sarabjot and Swapnil like after their medals?
I was really happy for the shooting team as we got medals after 12 long years. I congratulated them on their performances and wished them the best for the events to come.
Was Manu very dejected when she couldn’t medal in the women’s 25m pistol event?
She was disappointed of course. Anyone would be. I think what the two medals have done is, they have given her a world of confidence and now she is at a level above the rest. And she knows even if she has one bad day, she can bounce back from that and perform.
Your take on Manu’s evolution as a shooter – these were her second Olympic Games. There was some talk earlier about how she can’t handle Olympic pressure and then she silences her critics in this incredible way - almost in fact winning the silver medal in the individual 10m pistol event…
Look, you must understand that she is still very, very young and has already participated in two Olympic Games. Sometimes, it takes a lot of experience to handle pressure and she has evolved as a shooter now, if you compare her to the previous Games. She has come a long way and I see great prospects for her if she goes on to focus on her career. She can further elevate her performances in LA 2028.
Swapnil Kusale’s medal surprised a lot of people. Were you surprised?
Not at all. I knew his potential and over the past few years, he has steadily grown from strength to strength in his performance. I was confident he will do well in these Games along with Aishwary (Pratap Singh Tomar). They (Swapnil Kusale and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar) gave each other healthy competition, along with Akhil (Sheoran). This event (50m Rifle 3 positions) has a lot of potential going ahead.
What was the conversation with Arjun Babuta like after he so narrowly missed out on the bronze in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event?
I was personally very disappointed. I think he did so well, and at this level it really is about the show of mental toughness. He did remarkably well to hold his nerve. I have said this before, that in the Olympics, from 1st place to the 8th place, every one trains similarly and there are very fine margins that sets them apart to stand on the podium. In Arjun’s case, he missed the medal by a whisker. It was personally disappointing, but I told him that he can bounce back from this and learn from this experience in Paris to come back stronger in LA in 2028.
Your take on Anantjeet and Maheshwari entering the skeet bronze medal match and then losing to the Chinese pair by 1 shot — very encouraging signs, right? Were a lot of people expecting a performance like this in skeet?
It was overwhelming to watch them (Anantjeet and Maheshwari) do so well and miss a medal by such a small margin. Both shooters had worked very hard for the Games. I think this time, everyone was vocal about expressing their views on the medal tally, but they must really feel proud of the narrow misses here. Our athletes, even those who were not expected to win, did remarkably well one must not write anyone off before they perform.
In that context - there has been a lot of talk about how India had an unprecedented six fourth place finishes in Paris and how it could have been twelve medals instead of six, very easily. But the flip side of the coin — and this is something I wrote about also — is that these were, by those very metrics, India’s most encouraging Games also. You can call them the cruelest and yet the most encouraging Games ever for India, right?
I would call it (Paris Olympics outing) India’s best performance as a team, ever. Yes, we were short by a medal to equal the seven from Tokyo (2021), but six fourth-place finishes show that we have improved by leaps and bounds. It’s only a matter of time now before the results start coming and we must absolutely take heart from these performances and like you said, it is extremely encouraging. Going forward, we must introspect on the fine margins and how we can better these performances. Also, most importantly, I feel like now is the right time to teach our athletes how to bounce back. Everyone is teaching our athletes how to win, but no one is teaching them how to accept defeat and come back stronger. If we are able to crack this, I feel we can certainly hit the double-digit mark (of medals) and beyond in the next Olympics.
Talk to me a little bit about the entire Vinesh weight issue that happened. PT Usha went on the record to say how you and others stayed up all night trying to make her lose the weight and monitoring the entire situation. How challenging was that episode?
It’s hard to put into words. Firstly, I really admire her (Vinesh’s) will power and the burning desire to achieve. She is an athlete you see once in a lifetime, she is that rare. While all of us did stay up to help her through that night, to support her, at no point did she give up herself either. That’s what sets her apart – the never-give-up mentality.
Did you manage to have a conversation with Vinesh after the disqualification?
Of course I did. In fact, I returned with her to New Delhi last week. We (Govt. and IOA) wanted to give her all the help and assistance required to overcome this disappointment. We are all with her on this. Also, she is mentally very strong. I admire her for that and while she was extremely dejected the first few days, she is slowly coming around. I really won’t be surprised if she comes out of retirement to perform for India again.
Your take on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision and in that context do you think the weight rule should be changed? Some have even asked for a buffer of 1-2kg
Rules are what make the sport what it is today, right? And at the Olympic Games, unlike other events, they are extremely strict on the rules. I am not so sure about the request to have a buffer of 1-2 kg, but I certainly believe that keeping the athlete’s well-being in mind should be priority.
Overall, the Paris Games I thought were very good for India – six medals, yes, no gold, but still so much to be hopeful about. The men’s hockey team winning back-to-back medals, record performances in TT, in men’s badminton, in archery, Avinash qualifying for the steeplechase final, Chanu almost winning another Olympic medal, the skeet mixed team entering a medal round…
Personally, I feel we could have finished with a few more medals, but nevertheless, I am extremely proud of every athlete who made it to the Olympics – which are the pinnacle of sports. These 117 athletes (who competed in Paris) are special, and we must be proud of each one of them because they are the best we have. And yes, apart from the near-misses, we also had many of them make the finals, which is very encouraging. How we take note of these performances and strategically plan the new Olympic cycle should be the priority now.
What was most abiding memory of Paris 2024?
The camaraderie between Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra on the podium. Sport truly knows no borders or barriers and these two athletes are fine examples of that mindset. They are a testament to what the Olympic Games are all about – peace and equality. That was the defining moment for me from Paris, apart from of course the several incredible performances.
Akaash is a former Sports Editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is also a features writer, a VO artist and a stage actor see more
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