An Olympic walk to remember

The year was 1992. It was a Saturday evening on the 25th of July in Barcelona, Spain. The athletes marching in the opening ceremony of the Summer Games waved in excitement, to the thrill of their supporters and fans worldwide.

Far, far away in a living room full of sports enthusiasts in Calcutta (now Kolkata), the television held everybody’s attention. But it took a lot more than that from me.

For the first time in my life, at the age of seven, I suddenly felt like I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to make that walk. I needed to make that walk. What sport? How? The details? None of that mattered.

After all, the details of daydreams don’t matter. But the destination felt right.

Fast forward 20 years, almost to the day. It’s the 26th of July 2012, and I'm in London about to make that walk the next day. And I'm with someone who has the same identical dream. The only catch? He’s not an athlete competing in the Olympics. He’s my coach, and he's from Serbia!

Milos Galecic, my long-time conditioning coach, was once an athlete himself. But before we met, he transitioned into getting a Masters in strength and conditioning.

To cut a long story short, because of the years and time we spent together - through the ups and downs, wins and losses, surgery and rehab - he was really much more than just my coach. He was also my closest friend (who many years later would go on to lead the baarat at my wedding).

Milos at Somdev's baarat (Credit: William Chang images)

So given the situation we were in, we realized that there was a chance for our dreams to come true. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless. They say you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. How could we not take this opportunity?

All we had to do was figure out a plan where Milos, a Serbian, would walk with the Indian contingent during the opening ceremony. Easy!

With a little help from my friends

We first had to figure out the uniforms. Oftentimes athletes decide to skip the opening ceremony, for a variety of reasons. Luckily for us, there were a few tennis players who chose not to attend.

The tedious wait-walk-wait routine is definitely not in your best interests if you’re competing within a day or two of the ceremony.

We were in luck. We found an extra yellow turban, which was a distinct part of the uniform, and we didn’t even have to ask anyone. If you throw a turban on a 6ft 3in tall white guy, while he’s in the same attire as 100 others, he would blend in and nobody would know, right? Great! First hurdle crossed.

Next came the hard bit: accreditation. Only athletes and team captains are allowed to make the walk, so we needed a plan.

Considering how the turbans worked out, we decided to use more or less the same logic. We started searching for sports that were competing the next day, to see if we knew any of the athletes we could ask a favor of.

We were in luck, again. The athlete - "he who shall not be named" - was very understanding and kind. He just asked for us to slip the badge under his door when we were done. Problem solved!

The pros and cons of the gamble

Before attempting something like this, we had to weigh the pros and cons. The pros: the dreams of both of us would come true. Granted, it would be unconventional, but I would get to experience THE moment with my best friend. And he would get to make THE walk, but while posing as an Indian.

The cons: we could get caught and yelled at. It seemed like an easy choice at the time.

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take: Somdev

Needless to say, our harmlessly devious efforts were totally worth it. The fear of getting caught was trumped by the thrill of getting away, and of so much more. The walk was more magical than we could have imagined.

During the waiting part, Usain Bolt decided to run out and greet his fans, and the situation turned chaotic in no time. We met and took pictures with Michael Phelps, the (US basketball) "Dream Team", and many other superstars.

That’s when I realized that dreams do come true. The only part of the dream I didn’t anticipate was that I’d smuggle my best friend into the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The dream had turned into a fantasy.

All's well that ends well

The next morning, however, began on a worrisome note. We got word that a senior member of the Indian contingent was upset because of unknown people walking with the team during the ceremony. Milos and I immediately felt anxious, and began rehearsing our apologies.

Little did we know that there was another genuine imposter after all. And she was silly enough to not blend in with the right uniform!

The 'lady in red' had taken away the limelight for us to make a clean getaway. Apparently nobody knew who this lady was or how she got in, but she really did steal the show! For that, Milos and I will be forever grateful.

Thankful to the 'lady in red' for saving our blushes (Getty Images)

All’s well that ends well, until now! I realize that trouble may find me after this story gets published, but if I land in it for committing a schoolboy crime almost a decade after the deed, so be it. The juice was totally worth the squeeze, until I hear otherwise.

My hope is that the story made you smile, and that it encourages more athletes to give us insights and anecdotes of their lives. That’s what all of us sports fans really want.

As we get ready for the Olympics once again, you can’t help but feel the energy and the excitement around the event. The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics will take place on July 23.

The record books being re-written is a certainty. Just like the new dreams that will be born. And with that, a reason to smile for everyone.

Edited by Prasad Mathew