Athens Olympics 2004. India-Australia League Match.  Two evenly matched hockey teams were fighting to win.  With four minutes to go on the clock and the score tied at 3-3, India launched an attack on the Australian goal but the ball hit the goal post.  Australia scored a decider in the last 20 seconds and won that crucial league match 4-3. Australia went on to win the Gold medal at Athens 2004 while India missed out on qualifying for the semi finals. This loss however was pivotal for the way life has unfolded for Viren Rasquinha.

Eight years later, as COO of Olympic Gold Quest, Viren Rasquinha stood proudly behind MC Mary Kom, watching her win her Olympic Bronze medal. In the 2012 London Olympics, India won six medals out of which four were won by athletes supported by OGQ – Saina Nehwal, Gagan Narang, Vijay Kumar and Mary Kom.

At an event organized later to felicitate Mary, Viren had accompanied her to our office. When she stepped ahead to greet the crowd, she was met with deafening applause. I invited Viren to step ahead with her. Without a pause Viren quickly said, “No, this is Mary’s moment.”

That sums up Viren Rasquinha for me.

Losing at the Athens Olympics after 6-7 years of preparation was emotionally very tough.  That loss taught me so many lessons. I couldn’t pick up the stick for two months as I was physically and mentally exhausted.  I could see several mistakes in the way we had planned and prepared.  If only we had 1% better coaching, nutrition, recovery, strength training, infrastructure… Collectively these 1 percenters become cumulatively 7-8%.  That is the difference between participating and winning a medal.

A young boy from a simple conservative home who just liked to play, Viren was noticed for his hockey skills by his school hockey coach, Marcellus Gomes at St Stanislaus High School. Gomes was an Olympian himself and had represented India at the 1984 LA Olympics.  He taught Viren everything he knew - not just hockey skills but also discipline, team-work, commitment, value of time and a belief in himself.