Men in Blue to cheer for Dhanraj & Co

MUMBAI: International sport quivers on the edge of its quadrennial Big-O: the Olympics. The next two weeks, Athens 2004 will dominate the radar of sports fans.
And sports stars. Some of Indian cricket''s Flaming Samboucas, for example, will keep track of the Games despite a busy schedule. "I have seen the programme, now I want to figure out what and how much I can watch," Sachin Tendulkar told TOI on Monday."Growing up, I always followed the Games."
Asked who his favourite Olympian was, Tendulkar said: "Carl Lewis. The 100m is a great event. It has energy. For spectators it is fun, something that gets over in about ten seconds. But so much effort goes into it. It takes years for athletes to improve their time by even a fraction of a second."
The Wall will have Olympic rings on it as Rahul Dravid will plug his attention chord in to the Games, especially when Anju George and Co perform. "I will keep tabs on the Indians," Dravid said. "Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are genuine medal prospects. So are Anju George and Anjali Bhagwat. The hockey team has struggled but they have emerged from such setbacks before."
Tendulkar agreed that India had a chance. "We have some promising athletes and as a sportsman, we would like to stand by them."
VVS Laxman''s 281 against Australia merits Olympic status but till cricket gets on the IOC menu, he will have to be satisfied with watching the Games. Not that he minds it. "An early memory is the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Carl Lewis was amazing," Laxman said from Hyderabad. "I am excited about Athens too. We will be travelling, but I will catch as much as I can."
Unsurprisingly, the focus of Laxman''s interest will be India. "We have prospects in shooting, weightlifting, hockey and long jump. There are Leander and Mahesh, of course. I love tennis and it is one of the reasons I enjoy the Olympics."