Serious sport, as George Orwell put it, is war minus the shooting. What is it then, for those more accustomed to the sounds of the real battle? For those trained to fight, taught to be ready at any moment to pick up arms?

In Hyderabad, over the next ten days, answers to those questions will unfold at the fourth World Military Games. Far removed from the exercises involving guns and tanks, planes and ships, these games are more of the sporting kind, to be fought out on arenas built exclusively for athletic pursuits.

In action will be some of the elite sportspersons who are part of the armed forces in their native lands. And gearing up to rub shoulders with them will be the chosen ones from the Indian military, who are eyeing a rare chance to compete in big numbers at the world level.

Indeed, the pressures of playing hosts are many. Meeting the expectations on different fronts is a major challenge. Aside from organisational aspects, for a successful conduct of a big meet, a strong presence by the home nation on the medals table is a must and for the Indian teams, the last few months have been all about preparing for the event.

It is a fight against odds, and that awareness was well evident in the training camps, four of which were based in Bangalore, including those in athletics, swimming and handball. These are still early days for the Military Games, with the Hyderabad edition being only the fourth one. India haven't made their presence felt so far in this competition, with the standards being a notch too high. But a strand of optimism ran through the final training sessions.

"We know the opposition will be strong, but beyond that, we don't have much information about the rivals. American and Kenyan athletes are traditionally strong, so we should have a very good competition," says C Muralidharan, Madras Engineer Group's athletics coach who is among the five preparing the 20-member track and field team.

Major attraction
Athletics will be the major attraction in Hyderabad, and the heat will be truly on if the African distance runners turn up at the end of a gruelling season. From the Indian viewpoint though, it is the triple jump that will be cynosure. "Both Bibu Mathew and Alex Thomas have done well this season and I expect them to among the medals. The relay teams too should do well," says Murali.

In terms of experience, standing out is sprinter Anil Kumar, who will be heading into his final season on the track with the Military Games.

The national record holder in the 100 and 200 metres did go for the last Military Games but could not compete there because of illness. Back after a lay-off forced by injury, Anil says he will be close to his best in Hyderabad.

Like the athletics squad, swimming and handball teams too will be looking to shrug off the drawbacks caused by lack of experience and exposure. At the Army Service Corps pool, a squad of eight swimmers put in the final laps, hoping their performance at the National championships to serve them in good stead. "We won ten medals including three gold at the nationals, but of course, the Military Games will be different," says coach S D Singh, a sentiment echoed by Lt Col Ravi Naidu, the manager of the handball team.

Services were second behind Punjab in the National championships but with little international exposure, the players have been forced to draw tips from videos of world championship matches while polishing their craft at the coaching camp in MEG. "There is a dire need to boost team games in India," says Naidu whose team comprises three players who were part of the Indian squad that finished 13th at the Doha Asian Games. "Lack of exposure is indeed a drawback," he adds, while stressing that India, with the right kind of training and exposure, can really make a mark in handball.

T A Sujith, the National champion in 50 and 100M freestyle races, will spearhead India's quest in the pool. The 29-year-old Subedar in MEG is the only one who has taken part in the Military Games previously. He was 12th in the 50 freestyle four years back and Hyderabad will be another stop in his journey to find an Olympic berth. "I am just 0.5 seconds off the qualifying time in 50 free, hopefully, I will be able to meet that soon," says Sujith, confidence oozing in his words.

Thankfully, from swimming to handball and athletics, that one quality is not in short supply in the Indian ranks. And as they descend in Hyderabad, confidence could well make the difference, not in terms of medals, but in the way they fight on the field.