Thomas lost his baggage on the journey to Guangzhou from New Delhi and with no sign of it arriving even after two days, he was forced to buy clothes from a local store. But his request for underwear received a strange reply.
“We sell only once used underwear,” told the shopping assistant. A stunned Thomas thought he hadn’t heard him correctly. “We sell only once used underwear,” repeated the shopping assistant, forcing the Indian coach to beat a hasty retreat.
Only much later did he get the real picture. “He was actually referring to disposable underwear -- fit for one use only,” said Thomas. “We all had a good laugh about it. What else can you do?”
Meanwhile, Thomas said there was some concern over the flag-bearer’s role during Friday’s opening ceremony. Rifle ace Gagan Narang has been given the honour but he has an event the next day.
“We want to make sure that he won’t stay the entire duration of the programme. If he has to go there hours earlier and stay through the ceremony, it will not be a prudent plan,” said Thomas. “We are working out a plan so that he can be there half an hour before the ceremony and leave after the march past.”