Finally, Raj makes it
Written By
Uttara Chowdhury
| Updated:
US gymnast Raj Bhavsar, who was a stand-by for the Olympics team, has replaced the injured Paul Hamm
US gymnast Raj Bhavsar, who was a stand-by for the Olympics team, has replaced the injured Paul Hamm
NEW YORK: US gymnast Raj Bhavsar's agonizing streak of near-misses ended on Monday with the selection committee finally picking him to replace American Paul Hamm who withdrew from the Beijing Games after deciding his broken right hand is not sufficiently healed.
Four years ago, Bhavsar was forced to train but unable to compete and kept in reserve in the Athens Olympics. The disappointment nearly drove him out of the sport but he got back into the gym with the help of Bikram yoga, meditation and self-help books.
Ironically, when the US gymnastics team was announced in early July following the Olympic trials, the 27-year-old Indian origin athlete from Houston was in the exact same place he was in four years ago. Four days of strenuous competition between national championships and the trials, left Bhavsar 08 of a point short of automatically qualifying for the US team.
When six men were named to the team, Bhavsar had to deal with, once again, being one of three substitutes. But Monday's selection changes everything and Bhavsar who is the reigning US champion on still rings says he is looking forward to Beijing.
"This has been a very tumultuous road," Bhavsar who was Hamm's teammate at Ohio State reflected in a conference call. "It's been a long journey, and unfortunately, my berth on this Olympic team came at the expense of an incredible Olympic athlete, Paul Hamm."
The men's selection committee looked at competition scores to pick Bhavsar over Alexander Artemev and David Durante to fill Hamm's spot. "Given the current team make-up, we believe Raj is best suited to help the US men's team in its pursuit of a team medal," said Dennis McIntyre, the director of the men's program for USA Gymnastics. Bhavsar's strong performance on the rings and the parallel bars is also counted as an asset.
"This is a tremendous honour and the first feeling that comes to mind is that dreams can come true. You never know when it will happen, but with enough positive belief, it can. My heart goes out to Paul. He did an admirable thing, and he will always be a hero in my eyes," said Bhavsar.
The US gymnastics team is scheduled to leave Wednesday and the qualifying rounds begin on August 9. According to experts, Hamm's injury clears the way for China's Yang Wei in the all-around individual gold race. Yang is the two-time defending world champion, and the all-round gold was expected to be a two-man contest between him and Hamm. Now in one of the hardest positions possible, Bhavsar will get his Olympic chance and have to perform under pressure to keep the US team's pursuit of a team medal alive.
"Paul at his best is irreplaceable, but I'm going to do everything in my power to try and fill his shoes," said Bhavsar who has been doing gymnastics since he was three. He almost quit the sport after being a reserve in 2004 but said his supportive family, meditation and yoga helped him to stay the course; "There are times you have to dig deep and not lose faith."
The remainder of the men's gymnastics team includes Joseph Hagerty, Morgan Hamm, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring and Kevin Tan. The replacement athletes are Alexander Artemev and David Durante.
NEW YORK: US gymnast Raj Bhavsar's agonizing streak of near-misses ended on Monday with the selection committee finally picking him to replace American Paul Hamm who withdrew from the Beijing Games after deciding his broken right hand is not sufficiently healed.
Four years ago, Bhavsar was forced to train but unable to compete and kept in reserve in the Athens Olympics. The disappointment nearly drove him out of the sport but he got back into the gym with the help of Bikram yoga, meditation and self-help books.
Ironically, when the US gymnastics team was announced in early July following the Olympic trials, the 27-year-old Indian origin athlete from Houston was in the exact same place he was in four years ago. Four days of strenuous competition between national championships and the trials, left Bhavsar 08 of a point short of automatically qualifying for the US team.
When six men were named to the team, Bhavsar had to deal with, once again, being one of three substitutes. But Monday's selection changes everything and Bhavsar who is the reigning US champion on still rings says he is looking forward to Beijing.
"This has been a very tumultuous road," Bhavsar who was Hamm's teammate at Ohio State reflected in a conference call. "It's been a long journey, and unfortunately, my berth on this Olympic team came at the expense of an incredible Olympic athlete, Paul Hamm."
The men's selection committee looked at competition scores to pick Bhavsar over Alexander Artemev and David Durante to fill Hamm's spot. "Given the current team make-up, we believe Raj is best suited to help the US men's team in its pursuit of a team medal," said Dennis McIntyre, the director of the men's program for USA Gymnastics. Bhavsar's strong performance on the rings and the parallel bars is also counted as an asset.
"This is a tremendous honour and the first feeling that comes to mind is that dreams can come true. You never know when it will happen, but with enough positive belief, it can. My heart goes out to Paul. He did an admirable thing, and he will always be a hero in my eyes," said Bhavsar.
The US gymnastics team is scheduled to leave Wednesday and the qualifying rounds begin on August 9. According to experts, Hamm's injury clears the way for China's Yang Wei in the all-around individual gold race. Yang is the two-time defending world champion, and the all-round gold was expected to be a two-man contest between him and Hamm. Now in one of the hardest positions possible, Bhavsar will get his Olympic chance and have to perform under pressure to keep the US team's pursuit of a team medal alive.
"Paul at his best is irreplaceable, but I'm going to do everything in my power to try and fill his shoes," said Bhavsar who has been doing gymnastics since he was three. He almost quit the sport after being a reserve in 2004 but said his supportive family, meditation and yoga helped him to stay the course; "There are times you have to dig deep and not lose faith."
The remainder of the men's gymnastics team includes Joseph Hagerty, Morgan Hamm, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring and Kevin Tan. The replacement athletes are Alexander Artemev and David Durante.