Eddie Sequeira recalls Munich 1972

Of all the people who were shocked and saddened by the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus just outside the Gaddafi Stadium, Eddie Sequeira, the 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre Olympian runner would have been most hurt.

The 66-year-old’s morning calm was shattered when he was surfing the news channels and saw disturbing images of gunmen firing at the Sri Lankan team’s convoy.

“Immediately, my mind went back to what happened in Munich in 1972. It reminded me of horrible memories from that early morning attack against Israeli athletes,” Sequeira said still seething with anger after watching the terrorists target the Sri Lankan team.

On September 5, 1972, members of Black September, a Palestine militant group, stormed the Olympics village in Munich and killed eleven members of the Isareli contingent.

“Today’s attack on the Sri Lankan team really hurt me. The Munich Massacre was the saddest moment in Olympic history. It was a mindless exercise then and even today’s attack on the Sri Lankan team was mindless and cowardly,” Sequeira said.

“Whatever the reason of a conflict and however great the anger of terrorists, sportsmen and innocent civilians should never be attacked. These Sri Lankan cricketers have done nothing wrong. They were in Pakistan just to play cricket and what they got in return in very, very sad,” the Olympian, who completed his term in January as manager administration of the Tata Sports Club, said. 

On the morning of the bloodbath in Munich, Sequeira and Sri Ram Singh, the 800 metres runner, woke up after hearing commotion from within the Olympic village. Sequeira’s first reaction was that there was some trouble between members of the Indian and Pakistan teams. The two countries were at war in 1971 and the air was heavy with tension.

“I got up at around 4.30 am and the first thing that struck my mind was probably there was a fight between members of the Indian and Pakistani contingents. I told Sri Ram not to open the doors. Soon we realised that it was a well-planned attack on the Israel contingent,” he said recalling the incident. Sequeira and Sri Ram were staying in the complex opposite to the one which housed the Israeli team. Teams were allotted accommodation in alphabetic order.

Sequeira believes that the Sri Lankan squad will take time to recover from this shocking incident. “We were all affected by the Munich attacks. We all got scared. I think the Munich Massacre affected the performance of the athletes. The Games had to go on in Munich. It was a difficult period. I pray that these Sri Lankan players return to the cricket field as soon as possible and play at their best.”