Bengaluru: Eight years ago, as a young Jamaican sprinter trailblazed his way into the record books and Olympic lore with a blistering sprint in Beijing, the world rejoiced at the arrival of the new global phenomenon. Blessed with an infectious smile and brimming with more than a little endearing, self confidence, Usain Bolt became the poster boy for athletics. “Oh he celebrated before finishing the 100m dash and still broke the record. He could have easily done better,” was the astonished comment on everyone’s lips.
The world had received a new messiah whose very name gave the world all it needed to know. It was always meant to be. How could a man be that fast? Back in India, an awestruck 17-year-old girl watched the highlights of the race on television and it changed her life.
Eight years on, Srabani Nanda is weeks away from realising her Olympic dream having qualified for the 200m event following a 23.07 second effort in Kazakhstan. But she never forgot the moment that changed it all. “At the time there was inter-state competition happening and I had done a meet record in 200m. We were watching highlights — I didn’t see it live because of the meet. Bolt came on and there was so much publicity about him and the sprint events. That’s when I thought I want to do this,” recalled Nanda.
“(Before that) There was no Olympic craze as such in me. I did sport but I didn’t think to that level. That Olympics happened and I got to know how many went from India and from there on the idea came and I started to search for a path to get there. Slowly I got more and more knowledge because when we start, we have very little knowledge about the journey. It took me eight years to get here,” she said.
