5 Indian Olympic medallists and who should play them in movies

#2 Akshay Kumar as Norman Pritchard

Norman Pritchard (inset) running at the 1900 Paris Olympics (Credits: Sports India)

An India-born British athlete who won two silver medals for India at the Olympic Games, during the days of British colonisation in India, Norman Pritchard’s is a story that has to be told. The Britisher later went on to earn laurels as an actor in Hollywood movies. Is there a meatier story available in the history of Indian sport?

Pritchard was not only the first athlete from India but also the first athlete from Asia to win an Olympic medal. He was born in Calcutta to British parents. But according to the International Olympic Committee, he represented India at the Games in Paris in 1900.

He went on to win two silver medals in the 200m sprint and 200m hurdles, India’s first-ever medals in the Olympic Games. Later on, he went on to star in several Hollywood silent movies like Beau Geste, Dancing Mothers, etc.

Akshay Kumar has both the physique and the talent to portray an athlete on the screen. And if there is anyone in Bollywood who can carry off a moustache like Norman Pritchard, then it’s Akshay.