ABOUT RAJ BHAVSAR

San Jose, California:
Karma played a role and intervened to help Raj Bhavsar be chosen as full member USA Mens Gymnastic team bound for the Beijing Olympics after missing the cut by a mere 0.09 points at the US Nationals last month.

In a saga which panned out in last week, the unscripted story panned in Bhavsar’s favor  as Paul Hamm, who was chosen to Team USA even with a broken right hand finally decided ti call it quits, after further injuring his shoulder. This led to Indian-American Raj Bhavsar finally making the team, after initially being named as an alternate to the Team US Gymnastics.

Raj Bhavsar, raised in Houston, is a solid, consistent performing gymnast always in the top echelons of the sport and this year came tantalizingly close to making Team USA outright, finishing a mere 0.09 points off a Third place finish at the US Nationals Gymnastic meet, which also serves as a bench mark for selecting the final Olympics team for Team USA. At the last Olympics, Bhavsar again was named as an alternate inspite of consistent, solid performances throughout the year.

This year although Paul Hamm, the reigning Olympic gold medalist 2004, did not take part in the Nationals due to injury he was still chosen based on his experience and given “provisionary status” and finally ‘made’ the team after training camp last month.

However, Hamm withdrew not just because of his broken right hand, but also a strained his left rotator cuff in his attempt to recover quickly. "This has been the hardest decision I've ever had to make. But I have too much respect for the Olympics and my team to continue on when I know the best thing for everyone is for me to step aside," said Hamm in a statement.

Controversy has dogged Hamm, as he was awarded the overall Men’s Gold Medal in 2004 Athens Olympics, after a South Korean gymnast was erroneously credited with a low score, which led him to get the Bronze medal. This wrong ruling led to the suspension of three judges by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG)

Raj Bhavsar was also an alternate at the 2004 Athens Olympics games and trained alongside them and admitted, “It was hard to be on the sidelines watching for something that I have prepared all my life.”  But Bhavsar also resolved to work harder and his efforts paid off in consistent performances in the build up for the US Nationals and was rewarded with a selection to Team USA bound for Beijing Olympics as an alternate member.

Bhavsar, now a resident of Columbus Ohio, credits his parents and his upbringing for his acclaimed team spirit and attitude of helping Team USA perform well.  Bhavsar said he was very grateful to his parents and their faith and their incredible support and unconditional love and that he was very fortunate and indebted to them on how they handled everything and also taught him life lessons. Bhavsar also said that his parents  Joe and Sue Bhavsar were planning a trip to Beijing and that worked out well as they had planned their trip –“no matter what” and “all this makes it even more happier.”

Bhavsar said “Its has been a tumultuous roads and a long journey and came at an expense of an incredible athlete Paul Hamm but I feel that I am the right man for the job. I want to  take this situation and my experience of four years ago and make this a 8 man  team (including alternates) and hope in some way to bring the spirit of these athletes into my performance. Our team goals stay the same and we want to be on the winning podium.”

Dennis McIntyre, Director Men’s Gymnastics Program and Kevin Mazeika, Head Coach of USA Men’s Gymnastics said Raj’s strength were his performance in the Roman rings and vault and that he has been consistent in the parallel bars and pommel horse as well.

Proud parents Jyotindra and Surekha Bhavsar could not be happier. In an talk with Sam Rao of the Indian Express, Joe Bhavsar said, ?After coming to University of New Mexico, Albuquerque as a Masters student in Mechanical engineering, we moved to Houston, Texas nearly thirty years ago, where Raj was born. We are residents of the same city ever since.? An older sibling Sujit Bhavsar lives in Seattle and works for Microsoft Corporation and is not an athlete although very strong supporter of Raj? say the proud Bhavsars, who hail originally from Baroda. Gujarat India.
 
The Bhavsar who are Jain and also frequent the local Hindu Temple in Houston and the Satya Sai Baba Satsang, revealed that the disappointment of Raj not being included in the Olympic team for the second time hit hard. To counter this and ?for peace of mind, Raj used to accompany Surekha to Satya Sai Baba bhajans,? said Joe Bhavsar, adding ?Raj never lost faith or hope and always worked hard to achieve his dreams and wanted to help his team mates no matter what.?
 
Jyotindra and Surekha are headed to Beijing on Thursday, August 7th, and look forward to their experience. Raj and his team mates got processed in San Jose, California on july 30th and were enroute to Beijing the next day
 
Raj Bhavsar, a B.S. Marketing graduate from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio is interested in business ventures with an eye for Broadcast media. At the last Olympics and world championship, Raj Bhavsar was invited as a broadcaster and commentator for a webcast broadcast and did very well, said his dad Jo Bhavsar.
 
?Raj is the first Indian-American male to achieve such a high level and represent USA,?  said his proud dad and says that  Raj Bhavsar has also tried his hand at coaching, and even volunteered to shape up the next batch of Olympians at his alma mater Houston gym. Already, things are looking up for the extended Bhavsar family as a nephew Aakash Modi (12) of New  Jersey, has shown excellent promise in gymnastics and may be in line to follow in his cousins footsteps.
 
Aunt Bharati Desai of San Jose and her husband Vinod could not be any prouder of Raj?s achievement and joined hundreds of other well wishers offering congratulations and prayers for Raj Bhavsars continued success. With kudos and good wishes pouring in, the Bhavsars, were busing getting ready for their trip and hope that the thousands of prayers and good wishes are answered and Raj Bhavsar returns home with a Gold medal for his team and