Shiva Keshavan is named after the Hindu god known as the "Destroyer" - and after finishing 37th in the Olympics, the Indian has vowed to come back in four years and wreak havoc on the luge.

"I need to destroy the opposition for the next Olympics," joked Keshavan.

"In India almost everybody is named after a god or something because there are so many. Maybe I've got powers ... but I've not yet discovered them."

He might be 32 and competing in his fifth Olympics, but Keshavan said there is more - and better - to come.

"I know I've still got quite a bit of fight left in me and I can still get stronger," said Keshavan, who had to compete as an independent in Sochi after the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the IOC.

"It's important that I still have the will to perform better."

Like Tonga's Bruno Banani, Keshavan became something of a fans favorite in Sochi, not least because of the novelty of seeing an Indian racing down a luge track.

He took up the sport after being scouted by the International Luge Federation following a visit to India by a former world champion.

In a country as cricket-mad as India, Keshavan is hoping his 15 minutes of fame will help inspire a nation.

"I'm surprised at the amount of interest and publicity this has got back in India. I hope it translates into better facilities for the future generation of athletes.

"It's very important. We're a big country and it's very good that we're playing cricket, we're doing well. But I think there are many other sports that we can take up. There's a lot more opportunities for people, so I think it's a good development."

Tongan Banani doesn't hold out much hope of winter sports taking off on the largely flat Pacific island, but he said he was proud to have taken part.

The 26-year-old, competing in his first Olympics, finished a respectable 32nd.

The man born Fuahea Semi, before he changed his name to that of a German underwear company as a marketing ploy, was similarly picked following a recruitment drive and moved to Germany in 2009 to train full-time in luge.

"I heard it on the radio that Tonga wanted to send someone to the Winter Olympics," he said.

"I don't know why they chose luge, but I heard on the radio they would pick someone, so I thought why not give it a try?

"We had a little tryout, they picked me after that and since then I moved to Germany and started training."

Just as India is hooked on cricket, Tonga is a rugby nation and Banani believes his start in that combative game actually helped him.

"Like every Tongan dude I really wanted to play rugby for Tonga but everyone's playing. It's really hard to get into it because they will just pick the best.

"When I decided to try luge it was the right decision for me."

He might not have been good enough at rugby but as a Tongan, he was always going to be tough enough to compete in luge.

"Getting hurt for (Tongans) isn't anything special," he said.