Gay community supports Australian swimmer

NEW DELHI - The gay community here is preparing to turn up in full force at the S.P. Mukherjee stadium Sunday and cheer for Australian swimmer Matthew Mitcham, one of the few openly gay athletes.

Mohnish Malhotra, who has been sending SMS and e-mails to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community to cheer for Mitcham, said he expected a good turnout.

“My friend called from Mumbai to say Mitcham was participating on Sunday and that we should do something. Immediately, I began sending out SMSes and e-mails,” Malhotra told IANS.

“Mitcham is open about his sexuality. By going there and supporting him, we want to send out the message that we are fully supporting him.”

“The hitch is we will not be allowed to carry placards. So we are thinking of wearing T-shirts or scarves in rainbow colours. When he sees us, he knows he has a lot of support for taking a stand,” he said.

Mitcham won a gold in in men’s 10m platform diving in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.