My story: We watched madness as terrorists struck

I remember the 1972 Olympics like it happened yesterday. It was  a dream to meet such top-level athletes. However, that dream turned into a nightmare.

It was 4.30 in the morning. The Israeli and Indian buildings at the Olympic village were opposite each other and we were woken up to the sounds of firing and
screaming.

Initially, we thought that it was nothing but when the sound intensified, we went and checked through the window. When we saw the terrorists – armed men wearing red track suits with a black mask – attacking the Israeli team, I instructed my roommate to see that all the doors were locked.

We watched the madness, as the terrorists invaded the buildings.

We saw athletes jump out of the first floor in fear. It was maddening and extremely frightening. Finally, after invading the building, the terrorists took a few of the athletes into a vehicle and drove away. We were told that they were being driven to the airport, but they were killed later on.

It was a day before my event, but that was postponed by a day as the Olympic Association observed a day of mourning for the athletes who were killed. It’s a memory that is still etched in my memory.

—Edward Sequeira retired from Tata Steel and is now the president of their physical education committee in Mumbai. He spoke to Jayadev Calamur