E-Paper
Aldrin fails to impress in second trial, out of world championships
Asked to leap "close to 8.10 metres" to convince the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) of his form and fitness, Aldrin could only record a best of 7.93m
Long jumper Jeswin Aldrin will not go to the world athletics championships that start in a week's time in Eugene, USA. Asked to leap “close to 8.10 metres” to convince the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) of his form and fitness, the 20-year-old could only record the best jump of 7.93m.
Competing with two juniors, Aldrin began his series on the hot Friday evening in Patiala with a foul before jumping 7.93m. Two more fouls followed before Aldrin leapt 7.67m. He ended the trial with another foul. The conditions remained tough throughout, with temperatures touching 35 degrees and humidity in excess of 70 per cent.
“There was barely a minute's break between jumps. Imagine running 41 strides at full speed and jumping with just a minute's break in between. It was quite tough,” said a source close to Aldrin.
The result means Aldrin, despite meeting AFI's qualification criterion (8.22m) in April – when he jumped 8.26m and wind-aided 8.37m – has failed to make it to the world championships. India will be represented by national record holder Murali Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya.
Aldrin was not included in the Commonwealth Games squad either, with AFI citing his dipping results and a possible ankle niggle as reasons for leaving him out. "You can't finish sixth in domestic competitions and expect to board the flight for world championships," AFI president Adille Sumariwalla had told this paper recently, referring to Aldrin’s below-par performance at last month's National Inter-State Meet in Chennai.
AFI, however, got Aldrin and quarter-milers Rajiv Arokia and Aishwarya Mishra for a trial on July 4 in Thiruvananthapuram, where Aldrin produced a best jump of 7.99m.
"The selection committee was not happy with 7.99m. With modern spikes and technical advancements, we expect our jumpers to do better. His last 8m-plus jump was in April. This 7.99m jump was not up to the mark for world championships," former long jumper and member of national selection committee Anju Bobby George told this paper on Thursday.
Shortly after Aldrin's trials on Friday, World Athletics published a list of country-wise entries, and Aldrin figured in it. It is meant to be interpreted as a database of qualified athletes and doesn't represent the squads.
