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Another leap of faith
A berth in the finals looks a realistic target, medals a bonus, a report by Indraneel Das and B Shrikant.
My victory has proved that athletes with yellow skin can run as fast as those with black and white skin. This is a miracle but I believe a lot more miracles will take place in China (2008)
— Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdler who won the gold at the Athens Games in 2004 in world record equaling time of 12.91s.
(Indraneel Das from Patiala)
AND WE believe in miracles. But though faith can move mountains, would it fetch us a medal at the Beijing Games this August? May be, just may be. Refer to history and it’s not difficult to realise that in athletics, the blue riband event of the competition, it will be doubly hard.
Only six Indians have reached the finals in the track and field events since 1948. Triple jumper Henry Rebello (1948), quarter-miler Milkha Singh (1960), hurdler G.S. Randhawa (1964), 800m runner Sriram Singh (1976), hurdler P.T. Usha (1984) and jumper Anju Bobby George. A medal eluded them all.
After Usha missed by a whisker in Los Angeles, we had even stopped dreaming till someone called Anju Bobby George popped up from nowhere to pluck a bronze at the World Championships in Paris in 2003. Despite performing her best at Athens Olympics, she failed to get a medal. But a dream so far dormant was revived.
“It’s tough out there,” says Anju. “You need to give more than what you have to win a medal.” “That’s how it goes,” says Anju’s husband and coach Robert Bobby George. “To win a medal at the Games, sometimes your best is not enough.”
The final fling
Getting an entry into the Games is an achievement in itself given that the world tries for a spot at the quadrennial showpiece. And when it comes to athletics, competition increases manifold. Reaching the final of a discipline thus is good enough an achievement for a nation with a reputation for sport as ours. If in the process, someone wins a medal, rejoice.
Scrutinising the current form of our athletes, P.T. Usha believes that we should not hope for a medal. “It’s not easy. If you enter the final that means you have beaten thousands of athletes of the world.” Consolation enough for a billion souls. Milkha Singh agrees.
Going to Beijing
Only three athletes – Anju, triple jumper Renjith Maheshwari and discus thrower Vikas Gowda – have attained the qualifying norm till date. And walker Babu Bhai Panocha has attained a B norm. Yet, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) believes the number would increase to 20 by the time the deadline ends on the midnight of July 16.
That sounds preposterously optimistic. Add the women’s relay team (there can be six members), the near-certainty of Sinimol Paulose and the three who already have made the cut and you get half that number. Throw in Chatholic Hamza, the middle and long distance runner who was pipped at the post by Delhi’s Ravinder Kumar in the 1st Indian GP here on Thursday, and maybe women’s discus throwers Krishan Punia and Seema Antil and it still adds up to only 13. “We should have at least three women throwers in Beijing,” says Lalit Bhanot, the secretary of the AFI. Who will be the third? Neelam Jaswant Singh, who returned to competition after serving a two-year ban for failing a dope test in World Athletics Championships, Helsinki? Or Harwant Kaur, who cleared 58.54m here on Thursday. The B qualification mark, mind you, is 59m. “We will send the best,” says the AFI secretary.
The AFI has vowed to assist anyone who would attain the mark and even in their toil towards attaining the qualifying standard. Shot putter Navpreet Singh is training in New Jersey to improve upon his record of 19.70 which is 10cm off the qualifying standard.
At the moment, however, Indians are making a rapid progress in middle and long distance. Credit goes to Belarussian coach Nikolay Sneserav. He has been working well with the athletes in building endurance and stamina. Even he felt that at least two-three athletes would qualify—”and don’t be surprised if some one enters the final!”
So, in the track and field events, Indian women, as always, will carry the baton. With the athletics season having started on Thursday, all we can do is hope and pray.
Anju Bobby George
In her quest for that elusive medal, Anju has already started preparing for Beijing. “Unlike the last time when we faced a lot of difficulty, this year has been smooth till now. The AFI and the Sports Authority of India are helping us a lot,” said Robert Bobby George, Anju’s husband and coach.
From personal masseur to state-of-the art gym, Anju has got everything at the SAI Centre in Bangalore. “Thanks to AFI and SAI, we have got a personal masseur for her,” said George. That aids her in recovering faster between meets. “We have chalked out a plan for her so that she peaks at the right moment, but let’s see how it works. We will start our outdoor in Kochi next month at the South Asian Athletics championships.” Or, may be in Bhopal at the Federation Cup Athletics Championships (Feb 26-29). And then shift to the European Tour after the Doha Super GP.
Robert is against training abroad. “It becomes difficult. You need to adapt to the environment, get acclimatised and get used to the food and by that time you have to shift your base again,” he said. As for a medal? “Anju has to jump above 6.90-95 if we have to win a medal. A 7m finish would definitely fetch her a medal,” he said.
Vikas Gowda
He comes up with some great performances whenever he’s throwing in Salinas, California. But in international meets he has failed to justify his immense talent. Experts believe Salinas is the place where throwers generally do well because of the wind.
R Maheshwari
Renjith Maheshwari crossed the 17m barrier in triple jump at the Asian Grand Prix series at Guwahati and improved it to 17.19 metre at the Asian Championship in Amman last year. That mark not only clinched him the gold medal but also a berth to Beijing Olympics.
The Q-School
n People generally talk about the B qualifying standard. What is this? How is this different from the A standard?
n The International Olympic Committee has set this guideline to get the widest base of participating countries without diluting the standard of competition.
n With the US, the Europeans, the Africans and the Chinese dominating the sport, IOC wants more and more participation from other countries as well. The IOC rule says: Maximum of three qualified athletes in an individual event if all entered athletes attain the A qualifying mark.
n So, if someone attains the B mark only 1 athlete will be allowed to participate.
n In relay again the rule is different. The National Olympic Committees may enter 1 with a maximum of six qualified athletes. But here only the top 16 teams of the world will qualify.
Men’s events
Qualified:
Renjith Maheshwari
(triple jump);
qualified with a jump of 17.04m at Asian GP in Guwahati.
Vikas Gowda
(discus).
Good shots:
Chatholi Hamza (1500m) Last year’s best: 3.39:90; QS: 3.39:00
Navpreet Singh (shot put) Last Year’s best: 19.70m: QS: 19.80
Women’s events
Qualified:
Anju Bobby George.
Good shots:
Seema Antil, Krishna Punia and Neelam or Harwant Kaur (for that all three must clear 61m – the A-qualifying standard), Sinimole Paluose (800m/1500m), Women’s relay quartet (4x400)
Icons have modest expectations
B Shrikant
Milkha Singh, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa and P.T Usha know what it takes to make an Olympics memorable. All three have experienced the ecstasy of reaching the finals and the agony of narrowly missing a coveted Olympic medal.
‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh missed the bronze in the 400m sprint in the 1960 Rome Olympics, losing by one-tenth of a second. Four years later, Randhawa reached the finals of the 110m hurdles. In 1984, at the Los Angeles Games, Usha lost the bronze medal in 400m hurdles by 1/100th of a second.
As India prepare for the Beijing Olympics, Hindustan Times asked these legends to analyse the performance of the current lot. All three have modest expectations.
G.S. Randhawa: I don't expect any medals from the Indians considering their recent performances but I think some of them would reach the finals if they manage to improve their current best performances.
Long jumper Anju Bobby George has recently crossed 6.60 but I don't think anything below 7m would do. Middle-distance runner Sinimole Paulose and Johnson Abraham (400m) are also doing well. Renjith Maheshwari crossed the 17m mark last year and I think he would be able to give of his best at Beijing, but qualifying for the finals would be a big challenge. The women's 4x400m relay team can also do well if they qualify for the event.
Milkha Singh: I don't see any chances of medals because of the manner in which we prepare for these events. Everyone starts thinking about medals in the year of the Asian or Olympic Games and forgets about them once the events are over. We can win Olympic medals only when we have a systematic long-term training programme, regular trials and constant monitoring of athletes' performance.
My pick is Anju as I don't have any hope from the rest. Anju can reach the finals if she improves on her current performance. The women's 4x400m relay team should also do well. Renjith is performing well but the standard in triple jump is very high in the world.
P.T. Usha: If we are basing our hopes on the good performance at the recent Asian Indoor Championship, then let me make it very clear that there is a big gap between the indoor and outdoor meets. Indian athletes have done well at the Asian Indoors but they will have to do far better to even reach the finals at Beijing. It would be great achievement if anyone among the current lot could manages to do so.
My pick would be Sinimole and Preeja Sridharan. Sinimole clocked 2:03 minutes recently. I think she can make a mark if she cuts it down to 2:02. Preeja can also improve on her indoor performance.
The women's relay team (4x400) has returned a timing of around 3:37 minutes recently which is not very good. I don't see much chance even if they manage it to 3:30 because that will still be below the national record which is 3:26.89.
I do hope Anju betters her Indoor performance; she has to try her best to reach the finals.
IMPORTANT MILESTONES AT OLYMPICS
1948, London Olympics: Henry Rebello, the triple jumper became independent India's first finalist.
1960, Rome: Milkha Singh missed a medal in 400m by one-tenth of a second despite a time faster than the then world record.
1964, Tokyo: Gurbachan Singh Randhawa: Reached the finals in 110m hurdles. Finished fifth.
1976, Montreal: Sriram Singh reached the 800m final. Finished seventh.
1984, Los Angeles: P.T. Usha, The Payyoli Express lost bronze medal in 400m hurdles by 1/100th of a second.
2004, Athens:
Anju Bobby George, reached the final but finished sixth despite her personal best of 6.83m.
‘We will monitor India’s anti-doping programme’
(Indraneel Das from Patiala)
Australian John Fahey took over from Richard 'Dick' Pound as the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency on January 1 this year. In his first exclusive interview to an Indian newspaper, he talks about his aims and objectives, about the Beijing Olympics, about Indian anti-doping measures and a lot more...
Excerpts:
How would your tenure be different from Pound's?
Mr Pound was a very effective President for WADA. He put anti-doping on the map, laid very solid foundations, and, under his leadership, the global fight against doping in sport achieved tremendous progress in a very short period of time.
Every President has his or her own style and personality, and I have mine. I have always believed in facilitating the collective wisdom and talents of those I work with to maximise the organisation's outcomes. The Board and management of WADA are impressive with a diverse range of experience and I will pay great attention to their counsel and guidance. At the same time, I will not be afraid to take the lead when necessary and to engage in the public arena in the interests of WADA's objectives and doping-free sport, as I did recently by criticising Major League Baseball for its continued resistance to implementing meaningful independent anti-doping reform.
Any aims and objectives you have set for yourself? Any new anti-doping policy you would like to implement?
I have several priorities, but one of the most significant ones for me, as a government representative, is to maximise the role of governments in the fight against doping.
A decade ago, governments had little interest in drugs in sport; they left it to sporting bodies. Now they recognise that doping poses a serious threat to public health. It is not limited to the elite-level athletes — it now encompasses the public in general, the kids in the gym and in local sports competitions, who are very much affected by this insidious disease.
The Sports Movement and governments have clearly indicated their desire to work together through the strengthened World Anti-Doping Code to ensure they are effective in dealing with cheats and returning the culture of sport to an overwhelming dominance of fair play.
Being an Olympic year, how would you like to increase the vigil of your officials and marshals to trace cheaters?
The International Olympic Committee is responsible for anti-doping at Olympic Games. WADA cooperates very closely with the IOC, the Chinese sporting and governmental authorities, and with all other interested parties such as international sports federations and national anti-doping organisations, to make sure that the best Code-compliant anti-doping programme is in place at the Games.
Following its policy, WADA never announces when new detection methods are implemented. But I can tell you that the tests will be more significant in Beijing than at any other Olympics. So the chances of getting caught, for those who cheat, are greater than ever before.
Will the athletes that come to the Games be clean?
I cannot say that. But I would ask all countries to send honest and clean athletes to Beijing, and I would ask the athletes and those advising, coach or training them to resist any temptation to cheat.
Will you make it mandatory to take blood samples along with the urines samples?
WADA strongly encourages all stakeholders to collect urine and blood samples as part of their testing programme to further detection and deterrence chances. Making blood collection mandatory is a matter that we have been considering for some time and that we will continue to further discuss with stakeholders.
When will India get its accreditation? Are the Indians slow in their process? Or do they lack the right equipments? Do you think Indian athletes are on dope?
The New Delhi laboratory is in the final phase of WADA's accreditation probationary phase. WADA is waiting for the laboratory's final test results and should know in the coming weeks whether or not this laboratory will get its WADA accreditation.
India is an important country that has many opportunities to step up to the plate and prove its commitment to the fight against doping in sport, including by hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010. WADA will continue to closely monitor the development of India's anti-doping efforts.
It is important to remember that it is not a laboratory which indicates that commitment. It is the country's anti-doping programme which requires partnership between sport and government to ensure samples are collected, in and out of competition, pursuant to the rules.
Have you sorted out anti-doping issues with the FIFA?
FIFA has been for nearly one year now in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code. I am encouraged that FIFA and its president Joseph Blatter, who is a member of WADA's Foundation Board, recognise that fighting against doping is essential to protect the integrity of their sport.
We have seen a number of cases involving football players in the past few months, which show that football is certainly not immune to doping. WADA and FIFA appealed a number of doping cases for which the sanction imposed by the national association of the player was not in line with the World Anti-Doping Code. More generally, FIFA and WADA have a good and fruitful cooperation in the fight against doping in sport.
