On a rainy Saturday afternoon in Paris, Shivam Sharma was patiently standing in a queue outside India House after having already purchased his €5 tickets online. A cricket fan like most of India, Sharma is, nonetheless, excited about the Olympics.

"I have been here for two years now and the chatter about Olympics has constantly been building up in that time. Now, that the Games are on and I am still here, I’d like to experience this big event first hand," says Sharma, an engineering graduate from New Delhi.

He found out about India House on social media and wanted to watch singer Shaan perform at the inauguration and neither the non-stop rain nor the long commute to the venue, which is on the end of a metro line on the fringes of the city, deterred him.

Sharma, a management student at the HEC Paris Business School, keeps a busy schedule in Paris as he is interning with the private equity firm Astorg Partners but will definitely make the long journey back to India House again if he gets to interact or, even, see or greet any Olympic medal-winning Indian athlete.

"In fact, I don't even care whether our they have won a medal or not, if I get to interact with any athlete from the Indian Olympic contingent, you will find me at India House," clarifies Sharma, who was looking forward to the Indian food and a session in the nets that has been set up within the India House premises.