Indian Athletics is not just about Neeraj Chopra, M Sreeshankar, Avinash Sable and the rising star Shaili Singh. With India winning six Golds and seven Silvers in a total of 19 medals in the Asian U20 Athletics Championships in Yecheon, Korea, the indications are that there are others who are talented, fearless and want to be counted at the continental level.
Coming after Asian U18 Athletics Championships in Tashkent, where India won six Golds and 11 Silvers in a total of 24 medals, the returns in Yecheon tell the story of talent, perseverance, vision and coordination. It also inspires a deep dive into what more needs to be done to sustain the growth trajectory for athletics in India.
The success in the age-group competitions at the continental level – a result of concerted work in talent identification and development at the individual and institutional levels, is laudable. A note of caution is also necessary, considering that at least five U20 athletes have been sanctioned for Anti-Doping Rule Violations in the past year. But first, let us look at the Indian individual gold medalists from Yancheon.
Rezoana Mallick Heena’s two golds and a silver easily made her the star of the Indian contingent. She showed a clean pair of heels to the Sri Lankan duo of Dilsara Dissanayake and Uththara Mudugamuwa in winning the 400m gold in 53.32 seconds and anchored the Indian women’s 4x400m Relay team to victory in 3:40.50.
She has run a faster time this season, having clocked 53.22 seconds in the National Open 400m Meet in Thiruvananthapuram on March 6. Barring a 54.51 seconds in the heats in the National U18 Championships in Udupi, the 16-year-old from Bengal has consistently delivered sub-54 second times and raises hopes that she can be a part of Indian relay squads in the years to come.
Siddharth Choudhary was head and shoulders above the rest of the men’s Shot Put field, each of three valid efforts being better than anything the other competitors managed on the day. He improved on his opening try of 19.02m with a personal best of 19.37m and, on his third visit to the circle, raised it further to 19.52m to be sixth on the world U20 Shot Put list this year.
Discus Thrower Bhartpreet Singh’s temperament was on test. Having entered the competition as the favourite, he managed just 51.83m on his opening attempt and registered a no mark on his second try. After two rounds, he was trailing Iran’s Mohammedreza Ziyaii Sisakht (55.44m) and Uzbekistan’s Sayfullaev Duyozod (54.98m) but produced the winning throw of 55.66m.
Despite the season’s three best Japanese U20 women 1500m runners featuring in the competition, Laxita Vinod Sandilea, 18, knew she could have a crack at gold if she produced her best race. She executed her plans of sticking with the two Japanese until the bell, and then produced a good kick on the final lap and won the gold medal by pipping Kazakhstan’s Nurmamet Akbayan.
The 19-year-old Sunil Kumar was perhaps the most unlikely Indian winner of a gold medal. He became only the third Asian U20 Decathlete to get to the 7000 point mark in nearly five years. Interestingly, he used a borrowed pole in the Pole Vault competition after Air India reportedly refused to fly his own to Korea. These successes are reminders that a larger issue remains.
India has seen far too many age-group Asian medalists fade away from the scene when it comes to competing at the senior level. It is AFI’s challenge is to keep the bunch interested and in competitive trim for elite competitions. Some find the task of working harder to keep making improvements too daunting and choose to step back from the world of sport.
Thankfully there are some wonderful examples for the present lot to emulate. There can be no better way to inspire the U20s and the U18s to remain in competitive sport and seek those improvements than to get Neeraj Chopra to have conversations with them. Sports lovers must also find ways to assist these young athletes find financial stability.
Interestingly, Siddharth, Heena, Kumbhar, Jayaram, Rihan, Navpreet, Mehedi, Shivam, Abinaya, Nayana, Bushra, Susmita and Pooja were inducted into the Khelo India Scheme only on May 18, just ahead of the Asian U20 meet.
Would it not be more wonderful if these athletes had such support over the previous year? Would it not be apt if the Khelo India Talent Identification Development Committee watches the age-group National Championships to get a better idea rather than wait for these athletes to perform in the Khelo India Youth Games to be inducted in the Khelo India Scheme? There is no question, however, that Track and Field sport can do with more support in the country, both from the public and private sectors for India.
India results (medals)
Gold
Men
Shot Put: Siddharth Choudhary 19.52m.
Discus Throw: Bhartpreet Singh 55.66m
Decathlon: Sunil Kumar (100m: 11.57; LJ: 6.83; SP: 11.93; HJ: 1.87; 400m: 50.40; 110mH: 14.78; DT: 38.79; PV: 4.00; JT: 52.69; 1500m: 4:45.72) 7003 points.
Women
400m: Rezoana Mallick Heena 53.32 seconds
1500m: Laxita Vinod Sandilea 4:24.23
4x400m Relay (Anushkta Dattatray Kumbhar, Riya Nitin Patil, Kanista Teena and Rezoana Mallick Heena) 3:40.50.
Silver
Men
3000m Steeplechase: Sharuk Khan 8:51.75
5000m: Shivaji Parashu Madappa 14:49.06
Javelin Throw: Shivam Lokahare 72.34m
4x400m Relay (Deepak Singh, Sharan Megavarnam, Rihan Choudhary and Navpreet Singh) 3:08.79
Women
3000m: Bushra Khan Gauri 9:41.47
High Jump: Pooja 1.82m
Long Jump: Susmita 5.96m
Bronze
Men
800m: Shakeel 1:49.80
1500m: Mehdi Hasan 3:56.02
4x100m Relay (Vallipi Hima Teja, Arijit Rana, Mohammed Reyan Basha and Dondapati Mrutyam Jayaram) 40.56 seconds
Women
5000m: Antima Pal 17:17.12
4x100m Relay (Tamanna, S Akshaya, Nayana Kokare and Abinaya Rajarajan) 45.36 seconds
Mixed
4x400m Relay (Deepak Singh, Anushka Dattatray Kumbhar, Navpreet Singh and Rezoana Mallick Heena) 3:30.129