Sikhs in Olympics 2008

[Punjab]

Sikhs in the Olympics, Beijing 2008

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CANADA:
Field Hockey
This year many Sikhs members of our Qaum will be playing behind the Canadian flag. Four Punjabi Sikh field hockey members will be playing for Team Canada. They are Ranjeev Deol, Ravi Kahlon, Bindi Kullar, and Sukhwinder “Gabbar” Singh. (If you know them and can share personal anecdotes that would be wonderful!)
The four field hockey athletes have made Canadian headlines with their decision to wear pagris (turbans) during today’s Opening Ceremonies.
Ravi Kahlon from Victoria came up with the idea, stating:

“I want to challenge the identity issue,” said Kahlon, who admitted the other three players, and assistant coach and former Canadian Olympian Nicki Sandhu, were reluctant when he first broached the idea with them.
“I want to show that you can wear a turban and still be Canadian,” he added.
“When some of them first heard about this, a few said ‘This is the Canadian team, not the Indian team,’ ” said Kahlon.
Exactly, noted Kahlon. That is precisely the point he wants to make. A turban is a Sikh religious symbol and in no way an Indian national symbol. Kahlon said as a Canadian he would never wear any symbol of Indian nationhood during the Olympics or at any international competition.
“This is no different than wearing a cross on your chest or a Jewish yarmulke during the opening ceremonies, which nobody would have any problem with,” said Kahlon, an RBC mortgage specialist, and outstanding forward appearing in his second Olympic Games.
“We’re a country of immigrants and this is a celebration of Canada and the fact that in our country, you can be anything you want to be. I think it’s great that Italian-Canadians gather at shops along Commercial Drive (in Vancouver) and in Toronto to cheer on the Italian national soccer team. Nobody bats an eye about that. Nobody. They mean no offence. And we also mean no offence.”
Kahlon was born and raised in Victoria but said he is cognizant of the immigrant experience and it’s that part of Canada he has chosen to celebrate when marching into the massive 91,000-seat Bird’s Nest Stadium Friday behind Canadian flag bearer and kayaker Adam van Koeverden, of Oakville, Ont.
“My dad had to cut his beard and lose his turban to get a job when he came to Canada (in 1970),” said Kahlon. “Now we can choose to wear a turban or not and it doesn’t affect anybody making a living. Now we can celebrate that evolution of our country. During the opening ceremonies, I want people to think about Canadians coming in all kinds of packages, and yet we’re all still Canadians.”

I applaud Kahlon for engaging in cultural pluralism. He is putting it into practice. He and his teammates are making it known that the Sikh turban is as Canadian as ….(maple syrup?).


Weightlifting
Representing the world of weightlifting, 5’3” Jasveer Singh (sometimes written Jasvir Singh), who came from Punjab in 2002, has become a Canadian and Sikh sensation (many communities have even held akhand paaths to raise money for him). He is the first British Columbian weightlifter to go to the Olympics in twenty years. Jasveer (Jasvir) Singh has been sponsored by many Sikh groups including the Khalsa Diwan Society New Westminster in hopes of bringing Olympic glory to Canada.



INDIA:
As expected the largest number of Sikhs will be coming from the region of our largest population. Nine Sikhs (a new corrected number after my previous possibly definitely faulty name analysis) will be competing this year in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. However, there is little information provided on the web about the Olympians. If you find or can add anything, please comment.

Athletics
Harwant Kaur is from Punjab and will be competing in the discuss throw. It seems that she has recently moved to Australia after a career in the Punjab Police with only dismal prospects. She had previously finished 13th at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Manjit Kaur from Punjab will be competing in the Women’s 400m race. She has recently been training in California under coach Cedric Hill. Manjit recently won gold in the Women’s 4×400m relay and a silver in the individual 400m at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. She also won a silver at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Mandeep Kaur seems also to be from Punjab. She is competing in the Women’s 400m race as well as in the women’s 4×400m relay. I could not find a picture or any other information.

Rowing
Manjeet Singh, a Chandigarh rower, has had much success at the junior levels. He will be competing in at the world stage in Beijing in the lightweight double sculls event. While Manjeet Singh and his partner Devinder Kumar are not considered medal contenders, they are hoping for a top-10 finish.

Sailing
Nachhattar Singh Johal will be the only desi sailor at Beijing competing in the Finn category (heavyweight dingy). He is currently ranked number 55 in the international sailing rankings.

Shooting
Abhinav Bindra (maybe Sikh?) was considered a child prodigy, but has had limited success on the largest competitive stages. Still he is considered a medal hopeful.
Mansher Singh (maybe Sikh?) also qualified for the Olympics after a nerve-wracking tie-shoot at the ISSF World Cup in Italy.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu has had much previous success at past international competitions, but the Olympic medals have allueded him. He was bronze in the Men’s Trap at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and has had a number of other fine finishes including 4 gold medals at the Asian Clay Shooting Championships.
Avneet Kaur Sidhu is our sole female Singhni/Kaur shooter. She has been featured on a previous post here on The Langar Hall. Avneet hails from Bathinda and will be competing in the 10m Air Rifle.


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