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Paul in search of a ‘perfect jump’ in Worlds final
Paul's leap of 16.68m put him among world’s top 12 triple jumpers but he wants to do much better in the final
Triple jumper Eldhose Paul will be chasing a ‘perfect’ jump that can take him beyond 17m and help him achieve his personal best in the final of the World Championships in Eugene.
Paul became the first Indian triple jumper to qualify for the Worlds final. His leap of 16.68m put him among world’s top 12 jumpers led by Olympic Champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal.
It was Paul’s first major international competition and there was nervous energy to start with, but the 25-year-old managed to find his rhythm at the Hayward Field stadium. Though he was still some distance off his personal best -- 16.99m -- in the qualification. Paul is looking to make some technical adjustments and cross the mark in the final.
“My target is to get my personal best and go beyond 17m in the final. In the qualification round, I was collapsing during my landing. I have to get my step-phase right and that will improve my jump-phase. I also want to hit the board right. These small corrections will help me improve my performance,” said Paul from Eugene.
Paul was the last Indian athlete to join the contingent in Eugene as he was sorting out visa issues till the end .
“I missed my first visa interview because I was in Almaty. I arrived here three days before the start. There was not much time to acclimatise but I am happy to have made it to the final,” he says.
To do the technical course correction, Paul has spoken to one of India’s best triple jumpers and national record holder Renjith Maheshwary.
“Paul told me he was not able to get his landing right in the qualification. I have seen him during the Inter-state meet. He takes off with a double-arm action, so I told him that his hand speed should be high for better body control,” said Maheshwary, who narrowly missed out on qualification in 2013 world championships finishing in 13th place.
“This is the best time for Indian triple jumpers and one of them qualifying for the final is a big achievement,” says Maheshwary.
Maheshwary’s 17.30m is still a national record but a bunch of jumpers have come close this year. It has been a season of highs for India's triple jumpers. Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker and Karthik Unnikrishnan have gone beyond 17m, while Paul has shown good consistency. Chithravel, Aboobacker were also competing at the Worlds but could not go beyond the qualification round.
“It is not surprising that they have come up now. They have progressed gradually. They have been doing triple jumps for 6-7 years. It is a technical sport. You need to have both speed and body coordination to go along and that takes years of practice,” says Maheshwary.
In domestic tournaments, all four of them have been pushing each other. “There is a healthy competition. We do our work outs together and all this is bringing the best out of us. We need more experience at international level to improve,” says Paul, who hails from Ernakulam, Kerala.
Triple jump coach Harikrishnan, who trains them at national camp in Bengaluru, says Paul has set the standard with his qualification in the final.
“When you have four quality jumpers training together, the level of competition goes up. They share a god rapport and are always looking to encourage each other. Now, Paul has made the final and others will be motivated,” says Harikrishnan.
Before the World Championships, Paul’s only international tournament was Qosanov Memorial in Almaty, where he finished with a silver medal. At home, he was the most consistent jumper this season -- 16.93m at Indian Open Jumps Competitions, 16.95m in Indian Grand Prix and 16.99m at the Federation Cup. It helped him make the cut for the worlds through the world rankings.
“You need more international competitions to improve at the top level. You need to adapt to weather, surface and gain experience. But Indian athletics is looking up after Neeraj’s Tokyo Olympics gold. We had six in the finals this time. It is a big achievement," says Paul.
