Paris: Unhappy with the food served at the Games Village in Paris, the Indian shooters have turned to a Pakistani restaurant to satisfy their dietary needs. There are two Athletes’ Villages in Chateauroux (base for Indian shooters) but none of them managed to satisfy the Indians as far as food is concerned where majority of the dishes are continental. The vegetarians are the worst affected while one complained that the same container was being used for portions of chicken and beef.
According to several media reports, the Indian shooters have switched to a restaurant called Taj Mahal, run by Atif Noman, who comes from Pakistan. The likes of trap shooters Prithviraj Tondaiman, Rajeshwari Kumar and Shreyasi Singh and a few rifle shooters are having a complete meal from Noman’s restaurant.
“I only eat vegetarian food on Saturdays and they don’t serve that in the Village. They have fish or eggs in their vegan spreads. Everything is so bland so we found this restaurant and it serves good food,” Prithviraj told The Tribune.
The 37-year-old also added there is no concept of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods at Paris Olympics 2024. “To be fair to the organisers, they do not have this concept of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. So we found this place and everyone is flocking to this place.
“The other day, I found high performance director Dr Pierre Beauchamp and a few shooters there. Palak daal, chicken and fish biryani are what the team mostly orders. He has become a friend and sometimes we order before getting there,” Prithviraj added.
Meanwhile, Noman is more than happy that the Indian contingent has chosen his restaurant. “They have been coming here for a few days now. It feels good, Indians hai, zabaan apni hai, gup shup bhi ho jati hai isi bahane (We speak the same language and so we can chat also),” Noman was quoted as saying by the same media outlet.
Even Shreyasi’s personal coach Anant Singh too spoke good about the quality of food being served at Noman’s outlet. “It is a small restaurant but serves good food,” he commented. So far India has won just two medals at Paris Olympics 2024, both of which has come from shooting.
