Sunday, July 1, 2007

‘We are progressing at a slow pace’

Maharashtra Herald June 29, 2007

BY SUHRID BARUA
suhridb@sakalherald.com
Pune: The cupboard in the middle and long-distance running department looked bare for Indian athletics some years back. But if the performance of our athletes in the recent times is anything to go by, things do look heartening. The Athletic Federation of India (AFI) has realised the importance of reclaiming the past glory of long and middle-distance runners and roped in the services of Belarusian Nikolay Snesarev to look after our metric-milers.
His presence seemed to have yielded the desired results. “Snesarev has been asked to work specifically with the middle and long-distance runners. Our performance in these races has soared in the recent past. Surender Kumar Singh, Preeja Sreedharan, Sunil Kumar, OPV Jaisha and others have done exceedingly well. The progress of these runners is definitely a step in the right direction,” said Athletic Federation of India secretary Lalit Bhanot.
Among the present crop, Surender Singh has emerged as the most exciting prospect. The Armyman, who garnered a bronze in the mens’ 10,000m at the 2006 Doha Asian Games continued his great run capping off a superb double, winning the 5,000 and 10,000m at the 13th Federation Cup athletics championships in Kolkata last May.
Incidentally, Surender literally set the icing on the cake, obliterating the 18-year-old meet record of Gulab Chand (he clocked 14:01:33secs) timing 13:51:64 secs en route to sewing up the 5,000m gold.
Bhanot says athletics is no longer confined to the rural belts as it used made out to be. “Athletics used to be taken by youngsters from rural areas. But we’ve seen a growing trend where young turks from the rural pockets are taking up athletics,” Bhanot said.
He believes the future of Indian athletics is in good health. “We have put in place a strong junior programme, which is well streamlined. Things are looking up no doubt but at a slow pace,” Bhanot said with an air of optimism.
The AFI secretary singled out the exploits of triple jump sensation Renjith Maheshwary. “Look, there was a time when nobody could think of clearing 16 metres in triple jump. Today, we have a guy like Renjith Maheshwary who has gone on to clear 17 metres. It’s a good sign that we are faring well in metric-mile races as well in jump events,” he observed.
On the upcoming World Athletics Championships to be held in Osaka this August, Bhanot isn’t willing to stick his neck out. “Frankly speaking, I don’t see any hopes of a podium finish. We would have our task cut out. Of course, the big-ticket event would act as a springboard for our athletes to better their performances for the future,” he says with a shrug.
But he discounted the fact that there is a gulf of difference in the standards of Indian athletics and the world’s best. “We have bridged the gap on the international stage. We are not hugely lagging behind them as it is made out to be.”

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