Record India Tokyo Olympics squad likely despite pandemic hurdle

India are expected to send their biggest contingent ever for the July 23-August 8 Games in Japan once a few remaining qualifying berths are known

The final leg of the Tokyo Olympics qualification was filled with anxiety and uncertainty for the Indian athletes. The second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country threatened to throw their travel plans, competitions and training into disarray, not to speak of their health concerns.

Indian sprinter Dutee Chand. (Getty Images)

The country’s best athletes held firm during the stormy period. With the qualifying cycle coming to an end on Tuesday (June 29), Indian athletes have done exceedingly well to qualify in numbers despite the raging pandemic. India is gearing up to send its biggest Olympics contingent ever to Tokyo, holding out a promise of making it the most successful Games. The number on Wednesday evening was 116 (India sent 117 athletes to 2016 Rio Olympics). It is set to go up when the relay squad and universality quota places are finalised.

Track and field athletes suffered the most due to restrictions in international travel. Indian teams could not participate in the World Athletics Relays in Poland in May while their plans to qualify in competitions in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan also came unstuck.

The only way out was to make the qualifying mark in the searing heat of familiar Patiala in the last meets at home. Like in the past, NIS Patiala proved a happy hunting ground.

Woman sprinter Dutee Chand, the men’s 4X400m relay team (Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv and Noah Nirmal Tom), 400m hurdler MP Jabir and woman javelin thrower Annu Rani all made it through world rankings. Seasoned discus thrower Seema Punia also sealed her spot for her fourth Olympics, making the grade close to deadline.

Dutee produced a sensational 100m sprint at the Indian Grand Prix on June 21, clocking 11.17secs (national record), narrowly falling short of the A qualification timing by 0.02 sec. She was, however, well inside the world rankings to make the cut, and the excellent race helped consolidate her position. With several qualifying events taking place across the world in May, Dutee said she was fast losing qualification hopes while the international borders were shut.

“I was so demoralised when we could not travel overseas for competitions. I needed a race to maintain my rankings or do better,” Dutee said.

She stayed back in Patiala for two months to prepare for the Indian Grand Prix (June 21) and the National Inter-State Athletics (June 25-29) meets. “I wanted to give it all in one race whenever, and that opportunity came in IGP. I could have done better in the next meet (Inter-State) but then I was also competing in the 4x100m relay where we wanted to qualify, but fell short. That’s why I pulled out of 200m. But I am happy I have made the cut for both races,” she said.

Dutee will be going to her second Olympics—2016 Rio was her first—but this time the experience was quite different. “I had to struggle a lot to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. I had done all the hard work in 2019 but the pandemic situation changed everything. There was no training and competition calendar in front of us,” she said.

The men’s 4x400m relay team of Muhammed Anas, Jacob, Arokia Rajiv and Noah clocked an impressive 3:01.89s in the IGP on June 25 to rise from the 16th place to 13th that saw them comfortably seal the Tokyo spot.

Asian Games shot put champion Tajinder Pal Singh Toor met the Olympic standard with a national record throw of 21.49m in the IGP; the seasoned Seema Punia travelled from Belarus to make the cut, and Jabir did enough to make it.

In swimming, the dogged chase of A standard qualification by Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj—no Indian had achieved till they did last week—was incredible.

A year ago, their preparation descended into chaos with pools during lockdown. They trained in Dubai from August end before Nataraj returned once pools reopened in India in October. Prakash continued to train in Dubai.

Competitions opened this year but with international travel curbs on Indians, it all came down to the last two meets, in Belgrade and Rome. Prakash came close to the 200m butterfly A mark in Belgrade clocking 1:56.96secs (A standard 1:56.48) on June 19 and Nataraj pushed through in 100m backstroke, clocking 54.45secs (A timing 53.85).

The Sette Colli Trophy in Rome next up was now their only chance to qualify. Prakash timed 1:56.38, becoming the first Indian swimmer to directly qualify for the Olympics. Nataraj agonosingly fell short, by .05 sec, in the same meet. The 20-year-old got a lifeline when a time trial was organised there and he clocked 53.77secs.

“It was a bit frustrating at times the way our training plans had to be changed, and with pools being shut during April in Bengaluru,” Srihari said.

On Monday when he reached India, Nataraj was relieved to see his timing had been accepted by the world body, FINA, and his name was in the A standard qualifying list.

Woman gymnast Pranati Nayak and judoka Sushila Devi must be equally relieved to see their names in the continental quotas.