Raj Bhavsar has realized his dream of winning an Olympic medal for the US, but the diminutive gymnast has never forgotten his Indian roots and now wants to help vault the country to Commonwealth Games success.
Bhavsar, born in Houston, Texas after his mother and father emigrated from the Indian state of Gujarat, helped the US men’s team claim bronze at the Beijing Olympics last summer when most experts had written them off.
The 29-year-old arrived in India on Monday fresh from winning a silver medal on the parallel bars at a world cup event in Moscow. One of his signature moves is also expected to be given his name by the sport’s world governing body.
“I wanted to pursue the Olympics not only for myself but to be different and set a standard for Indian youth out in the United States,” he said in an interview. “For me, I’m looking to give back.”
Bhavsar plans to meet Indian gymnasts preparing for the Commonwealth Games, which will be staged in New Delhi in October next year.
India are unlikely to harbor any medal hopes in gymnastics but Bhavsar feels he can be a motivating force for the Games. Indian gymnasts had the potential to perform at the very highest level, he said.
“I can maybe help out on a consultant basis where I just come out and help coach the athletes and younger athletes, help them with some higher-level skills and even perform some of them,” he said.
“It is basically to just enjoy the experience with them and share what I’ve learned as an American athlete,” he said.
Bhavsar said he was not thinking about cashing in on his Indian heritage.
“I’m not even looking at any money. I came here as a humanitarian effort,” he said. “If I can just get a smile on one of the kids’ faces when I leave India, one thing I say changes their technique or they get inspired to do something different, then we are winners.”
Bhavsar plans to make flying visits to India and will stop by the national academy in the northern town of Allahabad.
He hopes other successful athletes of Indian descent would follow his lead.
“I’m just hoping my decision kind of sets it up for others to help this country, not just in gymnastics but for other Olympic sports as well,” he said.
India have traditionally struggled in Olympic sports and only recently shook off the tag of “one-medal nation” by winning three in Beijing, including their first individual gold in shooting.
But the Indian federation look to be serious about taking the country’s gymnastics to a new level and have hired Russian-born US coach Vladimir Chertkov to take charge.
The Commonweath Games feature 17 sports and the hosts are under pressure to win medals across several disciplines.
“Our main requirement is experienced coaching ... the equipment is there and the government is getting the latest for training for the Games,” federation secretary Kan Singh Rathore said.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946