It was hard to figure out who heaved a greater sigh of relief, Jeswin Aldrin when he discovered that his 8.00m opening leap on Wednesday had secured him the last berth in the men’s Long Jump final in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest or his team that finally an Indian had made it past the qualification to the final or backers of the Indian track and field sport.
The truth is that each has a reason to be relieved.
With Javelin Thrower Annu Rani and fellow Long Jumper M Sreeshankar finding that things were coming together at key moments, it was left to Jeswin Aldrin to provide some cheer with his maiden entry into the World Championships final. Starting the day with a special bib to mark his place as the world leader this year, he just about sneaked into the Thursday’s final.
Without the stress that preceded his journey to Eugene for last year’s World Championships and with the experience of having competed with the leading jumpers there, Jeswin Aldrin decided to tackle pressure on multiple fronts by going all-out on his first jump and landing in the pit at the 8.00m mark.
Besides the awareness that 14 of his team-mates had not been able to make it count, he could easily have been weighed down by the green bib that he had been given as world leader because of his 8.42m jump in Vidyanagar on March 2 this year and by the fact that Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock opened the competition with a massive 8.54m effort.
The 21-year-old did not let any of these drag him down. He attacked the take-off board with great sense of purpose – and some caution – to script an 8.00m jump. It was 15cm short of getting him automatic qualification. He did not take the foot off the pedal, embracing an aggressive approach even if it led him to foul his next two jumps and leave him on the brink of an early exit.
After he completed his series of three jumps, Jeswin Aldrin watched Manqis Dendy (United States of America), Tajay Gayle (Jamaica) and China’s Jianan Wang go past his mark with their final jumps. His heart was in his mouth till long after he has disappeared into the bowels of the National Athletic Centre only to find out that he had made the grade as the last qualifier.
It was the best way he could pay tribute to Neeraj Chopra, a man who he, like all Indian athletes, readily admits has inspired him with his consistency, achievement and fearlessness. From the moat around the stadium, he was willing Sreeshankar on when his team-mate was lining up his last jump. “I am really sad for Sreeshankar. He has had such a wonderful season,” he said.
Sreeshankar, who has had a consistent season with a best of 8.41m, just could not get going. Last year’s finalist, he suggested that the long gap between his trial jumps and his first leap contributed to the tightening of his body. But then it would be expected of an athlete of his stature and experience would adapt to such delays and still find the rhythm to make his presence felt.
Any expectations that Annu Rani would be inspired by the big stage to find her best throw of the season and get to her third successive World Championships Javelin Throw final were belied. She had two legal throws, over 57.05m with her first try and 56.01m on her last. It was in keeping with her dismal form in a season in which she has not been able to get a 60m throw.
Like India’s other leading athletes who have disappointed themselves and their backers in the World Championships, the 30-year-old has a chance to make some amends by doing better in the Asian Games in Hangzhou. She has a month in which to change the season’s script. She has one more opportunity to improve on her season’s best of 59.24m which came in her first meet in May.
Parul Chaudhary will be the other Indian athlete who will be seen in action on Wednesday evening, attempting to make it to her maiden 3000m Steeplechase final in the global competition. A cursory look at the start list will suggest that she will find it hard to attain that objective, but if she uses the race to get a personal best, if not the National Record, she will have done well for herself.
The results (Indians in qualifying):
Men
Long Jump: 12. Jeswin Aldrin 8.00m; 22. M Sreeshankar 7.74.
Women
Javelin Throw: 19. Annu Rani 57.05m.