MARGAO
Munich Games Olympian Edward Sequeira is optimistic that Indian athletes will be able to fare well at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I am confident they will do well this time,” the former middle-distance runner told 'The Goan' on Monday. “In those days, we didn't have the kind of support system the athletes have now. I know they can do better this time to win the hearts of the millions,” said the Mumbai-based Sequeira, who is fondly known as Eddie.
Sequeira represented the country against Russia in 1965 and then went to the Commonwealth Games in Kingston in 1966, the year in which he created the national mark in the 1,500 metres.
The Asian Games in 1966 in Bangkok turned out to be a disaster for Sequeira, who was forced to retire when in full flight in the final and had to settle for the award of "Unlucky Athlete of the Games". The Indian star had obviously been pushed and the organisers perhaps thought fit to compensate him with the most unlikely labelled award.
Sequeira then went to Ceylon for a dual meet and won the 1,500m, and the following year created a national mark of 14:38 in the 5,000 metres in another such competition on the Ceylon tracks. He was the captain of the Indian team to Malaysia and Singapore.
Sequeira went to the Munich Olympics in 1972, where he finished 11th in the third heat of 5,000 metres, clocking 14:01.4s. However, Munich left other memories for Sequeira, of the killings of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists.
“I will never forget it," he said. "The commotion started at 4.25-4.30 in the morning, when people started screaming. The first fear that it was some problem with Pakistan since there had been the war only a year ago. Then figuring out what had happened half an hour later, and then hearing of the killings. And the tense feeling that stayed unabated throughout the Munich stay," recalled Sequeira, who hails from Parra.
An outstanding sportsman, Sequeira has done a lot for Indian athletics as a coach and took part in a coaching conference in Tokyo in 1979. He was also on the Committee of the Amateur Federation of India. An officer with Tata Iron and Steel Co, Mumbai, Sequeira was awarded the government of Maharashtra's Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji award and the Arjuna award.
All eyes are on Neeraj Chopra who is seen as India’s brightest prospect to end the country’s long wait for a first Olympic medal in athletics. Independent India has never won a medal at the track and field events in Olympic Games with Milkha Singh and PT Usha coming heartbreakingly close in the past.
The 81-year-old Sequeira hoped the athlete would be able to highlight the power of sport to bring people together in these difficult times
"The thrill of competing at the greatest sporting event in the world and being recognised as the best sportspersons in your country remains unprecedented. I am sure they will be itching to light up Tokyo with unrelenting resolve and skills," Sequeira said.
