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Paris
India will have a strong presence at the Paris Olympics beyond just its national contingent, with several athletes of Indian descent competing for other countries. While the 117-member Indian team aims to surpass its best-ever medal tally, a number of Indian-origin athletes will also be in action, representing their adopted nations. Here is a list of 5 Indian-origin players you must know about.
Rajeev Ram (Tennis, USA):
Rajeev Ram, a prominent figure among athletes of Indian heritage, is set to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics. The 40-year-old tennis player was born in Denver, USA, to parents who emigrated from Bangalore, India.
Ram’s upbringing was steeped in academia; his father, Raghav, a botanist, passed away in April 2019 after battling pancreatic cancer, while his mother, Sushma, worked as a scientific technician. Despite this academic background, Ram opted to pursue a career in tennis, diverging from family tradition. He has expressed pride in his Indian heritage, emphasizing the importance of representation in tennis, a sport with few athletes from his community. Ram has enjoyed significant success, winning five Grand Slam titles, including four in men’s doubles and one in mixed doubles, alongside Venus Williams at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He will be competing in the men’s doubles event in Paris.
Kanak Jha (Table Tennis, USA):
USA table tennis player Kanak Jha, who has Indian roots, is set to compete at the Paris Games. His mother, Karuna, hails from Mumbai, while his father, Arun, grew up in Kolkata and Prayagraj. Both parents work in the IT sector.
Jha’s journey in table tennis began at the India Community Centre in Milpitas, California, where he and his older sister, Prachi, who is also a table tennis player, were eager to take up the sport. He quickly began defeating opponents who were much larger than him. To ensure he remained connected to his heritage, Jha’s mother enrolled him in a Jainshala and Hindishala, where he could study Hindi and learn about Jainism.
At 24 years old, he has achieved the title of U.S. National Champion four times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and has participated in the Olympics twice (2016, 2020). He was the youngest American competitor at the 2016 Rio Olympics and made history as the first American to secure a medal at the Youth Olympics in Argentina in 2018. He is set to compete in the men’s singles event in Paris.
Prithika Pavade (Table Tennis, France):
Prithika Pavade’s journey began in Puducherry, where her father was born and raised. After marrying in 2003, he relocated to Paris, where Prithika was born a year later.
A former table tennis player himself, her father introduced her to the sport at the age of six. Prithika quickly excelled, making her Olympic debut at just 16 during the Tokyo Games.
Now 19, she is seeded 12th in women’s singles and is poised to compete in multiple events at the upcoming Paris Olympics, aiming for a podium finish despite the challenges ahead.
Amar Dhesi (Wrestler, Canada):
Amar was born in Surrey, British Columbia, a small province on Canada’s western coast, to Balbir Dhesi. His father, a former national champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, hails from the village of Sanghwal in the Jalandhar district of Punjab. Balbir trained at NIS Patiala and secured a position with the Punjab Police before relocating to Canada in 1979 in search of better opportunities.
In Canada, he worked in a sawmill and established the Khalsa Wrestling Club for youth in Surrey in 1985. Amar began attending practices with his father and older brother Paramveer at the age of five and participated in his first competition when he was eight.
Amar, an admirer of Yogeshwar Dutt’s wrestling videos, made his Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, finishing 13th in the men’s 125kg freestyle event. A year later, he earned his first senior gold medal at the Pan American Championships and subsequently won gold in the 125kg category at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Now 28 years old, he is set to compete in the men’s 125kg freestyle event.
Shanti Pereira (Athletics, Singapore):
Veronica Shanti Pereira, often referred to as Singapore’s “Sprint Queen,” has strong familial ties to Kerala, India, where her grandparents originated from Vettukad near Thiruvananthapuram. The family relocated to Singapore after her grandfather secured employment there.
In a historic achievement, Pereira ended Singapore’s 49-year drought for a track and field medal at the Asian Games by securing a silver in the women’s 100 meters last year.
Shanti has been honored as the ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ at the Singapore Sports Awards, marking a significant achievement in her athletic career. Pereira, who has prepared for the Olympics in Europe, also has a children’s book titled Go Shanti Go!, which is based on her life and was authored by her two elder sisters. She is set to compete in the women’s 100m race in Paris.
The participation of Indian-origin athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympics underscores not only their personal accomplishments but also the larger theme of globalization in sports. As these competitors represent their nations, they embody the rich cultural legacy of India, igniting inspiration among future generations and instilling pride within the Indian diaspora. Their journeys illustrate how sports can transcend cultural boundaries and foster unity among diverse populations worldwide.
