Corporate India Catches Olympic Fever

At a public pool in Bangalore filled with toddlers in rubber rings and dive-bombing teenagers, two of India’s Olympic swimmers prepare for the biggest race of their lives. Separated by lane markers from at least 400 locals, the athletes carve their way through water turned cloudy green by chlorine. “The government thinks all you need to be successful in swimming is water,” says Virdhawal Khade, 20, India’s 100-meter freestyle record holder, who will compete in London in July.

India has won just 20 medals at 21 Summer Games since 1920. Funding is scant, with the government struggling to contain a serious budget deficit. So billionaires Lakshmi Mittal and Mukesh Ambani and a consortium of Indian companies have stepped in to help bankroll the athletes, with a focus on boxing, shooting, wrestling, badminton, and archery.