Tell us something about your experiences.
I knew I could do up to 10.6 seconds only while the world champions were running 10.2 and 10.3 seconds. I went through the first two rounds. But I knew I would not get through the quarterfinals. There were other runners who were faster than me; one black American -- who beat me in the race -- and two others. They were running 10.2, 10.3, and 10.2. Though I was beaten, I still believe that mine was quite a good achievement.
I must tell you another little story. My father was a deputy collector who died young. Those days, under the British rule, deputy collectors were quite important people. He lived well and was a good sportsman but left no money except his provident fund, when he died. And I had won the Rhodes scholarship. I was the first Rhodes scholar from India, but I had no money with me.
The Olympics got over in the first week of August and Oxford starts only in September. So I had to survive for a month in England with no money. Since I was not going to return to India after the Olympics, I asked my manager to give me back my ship fare because I had to live in London till the classes started. They never gave me the money. I don't know where the money went, but it didn't come to me!
So, there I was, all alone in London, with no money at all in my hands. I went to a youth club in London and told them that I was an Olympian and asked them whether they could do something for me. They said they could not pay me but I could live in the club, have food there and take part in the games with the youth. That suited me fine. I stayed there for one month.
Did you play cricket at Oxford?
No, I didn't. I played hockey there but then I did not go for any trials for hockey or cricket because I had to concentrate on athletics. And besides, I had to get my postgraduate degree in economics too. I had a very busy schedule there. So I decided to stick to athletics. But I used to play tennis for my college at Oxford.
How did you manage academics and sports so well?
I have always believed it is not an either-or situation. If you learn to win, if you learn to excel in sports, you want to do well in studies too. Later on, you want to do well in your work too because by then you have tasted victory, you know what it is to excel in what you are doing. My view is that a person who is good in sports has a much better chance of being good in studies as compared to a person who is not good in sports.
Sports does not clash with studies. In fact, the two can be combined very well. What clashes with studies are things like drugs.
Here in India, many say we don't produce world-class sportspersons because those who excel in sport also have to go through their studies like any other student and later on try for a job.
I don't think so. I think it is the parents who are the culprits behind this kind of thinking. My view is that it is due to the lack of infrastructure that we are unable to produce great athletes.
I worked for 20 years for UNESCO in Paris, and in the last eight years of my service, I was promoted as chief of Asia. We had about $ 100 million worth of projects for Asia. I had to travel quite a lot in Asia to see how these projects are getting on.
I had to go to China twice. When I first went there in 1978, China had just come out of a very bad period, which they call the Cultural Revolution. A lot of damage was done by the 'Gang of Four'. Education was the worst hit. When this Gang was overthrown, the first thing China did, that is, after they rejoined the UN, was to ask for a mission to come and study their education system and propose projects.