The Unsung Ones Behind India's Olympic Heroes

Kolkata: Away from the glitz and glamour of celebrations to hail the heroes of India's most successful Olympic Games are the unsung non-governmental agencies that played a significant role in the athletes' accomplishments.

Small bands of former internationals and corporates quietly worked to see the Indian athletes fulfilling their dreams of becoming world beaters at the London Games.

Prominent among the agencies are the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), the brainchild of sporting legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone, and Mittal Champions Trust (MCT), an initiative by steel baron Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, which has on its board tennis stars Mahesh Bhupathi and Manisha Malhotra.

Seeing the Mittals, other corporate houses have also started looking beyond cricket. They are now viewing the Olympic disciplines more favourably.

The Mittals have earmarked over 50 crore to prepare the prospective medal winners at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while the Sahara Group has an ambitious plan to create an ultra-modern sports complex at the sylvan surroundings in Amby Valley near Pune, with facilities for boxing, wrestling, shooting and archery.

From spotting potential talent to providing them with the means to improve their performance, both OGQ and the MCT have been helping Indian athletes achieve the ultimate sporting glory - an Olympic gold medal.

That five of the six London medallists are part of either the OGQ or the MCT, shows the two organisations have succeeded in their effort to help athletes excel. If the MCT has grappler Yogeshwar Dutt as a medal winner, then the OGQ has shuttler Saina Nehwal, shooters Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang, and boxer M.C. Mary Kom, who all had podium finish last month.