Few remember that Kishore Ratna Mani Rai, now 71, was India’s flag bearer at the Calgary Winter Olympics in Canada in 1988.

Darjeeling has celebrated its Olympians — Bharat Chhetri, who was part of India’s hockey team in the 2012 London Olympics, Chandan Singh Rawat who was part of India’s football team in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and C.S. Gurung whose team won the hockey gold in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Rai, however, has never been accorded a public felicitation.

“Maybe, people would have recognised me if I had won a medal in the Olympics and the Asian Games that I participated in,” said a modest Rai, who lives a simple life at Nimki Dara in Darjeeling.

In the 1988 Winter Olympics, the Indian delegation consisted of three skiers, Rai, Gul Dev and Shailaja Kumar.

Shailaja was the first Indian woman athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics. The Indian contingent participated in that Winter Olympics for the first time after 1968.

In the men’s slalom event, Rai finished 49th among 109 competitors. Dev failed to complete the event. Shailaja finished 28th among 57 competitors.

Rai also represented India at the Asian Winter Games held in 1986 and 1990 in Japan.

“Back then, we had very few facilities for skiing. Nevertheless, I am proud that I could represent my country,” said Rai.

Rai had never skied until 1981.

“I joined the 11 Gorkha regiment in 1971 but in 1982 I was posted at the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg,” said Rai, adding that he learned to ski here.

His skiing was so impressive that he was posted as a trainer in that institute till 1991.

“When I participated in the Olympics, I received a promotion. So the army did recognise my feat,” said Rai.

The veteran had joined the army as a sepoy. In his 30-year-old career, he was promoted eight times before he retired as an honorary captain in 2021.

The army apart, he did not receive much recognition in the civilian forum. “My school (Central School) felicitated me after my return from the army,” Rai smiled.

Other army veterans feel that Rai deserves more recognition.

“Ex-servicemen do not just mean a group of people who go to the borders and fight in a war. We have Olympians among us that people are unaware about, we have highly qualified educators and so on,” said D.B. Gurung, an army veteran, at a senior citizens' day event organised by the Rotary Club of Darjeeling on Sunday.

In this context, when Gurung spoke about Rai, everyone present at the event was left stunned.

“We were unaware that an Olympian is in our midst,” said Samir Singhal, the president of Rotary Darjeeling.