How a Pakistani restaurant is helping Indian shooters continue to compete in Paris 2024 Olympics – Firstpost

The Indian shooting contingent competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics is reportedly unhappy with the food served at the Games Village and has opted for a Pakistani restaurant to cater to their Indian food needs.

According to a report by The galleryIndian shooters, who are based in Chateauroux, have to make do with dishes like dal and chawal at the Games Village, while most other dishes are continental. Vegetarians, in fact, have little choice at the Games Village, and one member of the shooting team was shocked that the same container was being used for portions of chicken and beef.

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After some internet research, the team came across a restaurant called Taj Mahal. The restaurant is run by Atif Noman, who hails from Pakistan. According to the report, some members of the trapping team, including Prithviraj Tondaiman, Rajeshwari Kumar and Shreyasi Singh, as well as a few members of the shooting team, have at least one full meal at this restaurant.

“I only eat vegetarian food on Saturdays and they don’t serve that at the Village. They have fish or eggs in their vegan dishes. Everything is so bland that we found this restaurant and it serves good food,” Prithviraj was quoted as saying by The gallery.

“To be fair to the organisers, they don’t have this concept of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. So we found this place and everyone went there. The other day, I found the high performance director Dr Pierre Beauchamp and a few shooters there. The team mostly orders Palak daal, chicken and fish biryani. He has become a friend and sometimes we order before we arrive,” the 37-year-old added.

Noman, who hails from Pakistan’s Punjab province, was very welcoming to the Indian contingent. “They have been coming here for a few days now. It’s nice, Indians hai, zabaan apni hai, gup shup bhi ho jati hai isi bahane (we speak the same language so we can chat too),” he said. The gallery.

“Who doesn’t miss Indian cuisine? Whenever we go abroad, we find such restaurants,” said Suma Shirur, the head coach of the Indian shooting team.

The restaurant is not only enjoyed by those staying inside the Games Village. Shreyasi Singh’s personal trainer Anant Singh, who is staying outside the Games Village as he does not have accreditation to stay inside, was also pleased with the quality of the food. “It is a small restaurant but they serve good food,” he commented.

India’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics came from shooter Manu Bhaker, who won bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event.