Olympic Parade - mystery woman identified !!

The Olympic Parade is in news for wrong reasons – first a mysterious woman walked alongside Indian flagbearer as none – the Security, the Organisers, the Indian Contingent – administrators and Managers – none cared to see ‘who she was’ ? and why someone would walk ahead of more famous athletes !!!! It was supposed to be one of the proudest moments of their lives for those competing, the chance to show the world that they were ready to take part in the Olympics. But in the front was a woman wearing  a red top and turquoise trousers while athletes were dressed in yellow turbans or saris.  The Indian contingent was shown (on television) for just 10 seconds, and this lady hogged all the limelight;   that way the incident that occurred during the Olympic Opening parade was a blot for the Organisers.  The Indian Contingent consists of many participants, Administrators and Chef de mission – still none ever though of the lady who was stealing the limelight by walking shoulder to shoulder with the flag bearing wrestler – Sushil kumar.  Comical indeed !!!

Madhura leads !!!

For many, the sweetest sound to one’s ears is their own name and the best thing to look at their own face on a mirror or in a photograph  !  In the recent One dayer between India and Sri Lanka, in the dying stages, when Suresh Raina in company of Irfan Pathan ensured a victory for India –the camera zoomed in on a young woman, just to show that those at the stadium were disappointed in the close finish – alas, the gloomy face of the woman, upon realizing that she is on TV, blushed and she started waving her hands cheerfully – ‘I am on TV and nothing else matters !’

You see this happening in most functions.  On the dais, you could suddenly see some persons trying to capture the eyes of cameras and the attention of others – even the Organisers may not know who they are and why they are on stage.  In a small function where Organisers are not able to control, this is understandable.  But, we had this happening in the high profile Olympics where thousands of special security arrangements had been made. 

Conveniently forgetting their own lapses, the Officials from India demanded that there shoule be a security probe as to how an imposter joined its ranks in the Opening Ceremony parade.  London 2012 chairman Lord Coe today confirmed that she was an 'over-excited' volunteer cast member who had already taken part in the ceremony.  He admitted that she should not have been there on the parade and that they will look into that !  India's acting chef-de-mission Muralidharan Raja  called it an intrusion and a shame on athletes – but what were they doing, when she walked along ??

After many questions on the mysterious woman, now there are reports that she was ‘Madhura’, a dancer from Bangalore.  There are reports quoting her father K Nagendera that she had been officially selected for a dance performance by show creator Danny Boyle.  Nagendra said his daughter was practising dance for past many months with all participants selected to perform at the Opening ceremony.

The Opening  ceremony  showcased Great Britain’s rich heritage combined with dazzling fireworks and stunning visual effects – and the dazed officials had no clue of who was walking along with them. There is also news circulating on the net that while all Indian athletes carried the National flag, Sania Mirza was conspicuous in not having one in her hands !!!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.