A 17-member squad will represent India in the track and field events and though there are no genuine hopes of winning a medal, there have been some heartening performances in the build-up to the Games.
Long jumper broke the National record in Athens but didn’t win a medal. This time around she hopes for a better performance, writes Nihal KoshieA 17-member squad will represent India in the track and field events and though there are no genuine hopes of winning a medal, there have been some heartening performances in the build-up to the Games.
A case in point is 10,000 metres runner Surender Singh, who has almost knocked off a minute in his personal timing of the distance. Last year he had clocked 28:57.90 and then went on to better Hari Chand’s 32-year-old National record (28:48.72) at Watford in June. He qualified for the Olympics with an amazing timing of 28:02.89 at the Spanish Olympic trials in Vigo, Spain.
Another athlete who has a good chance to finish in the top-six if not win a medal will be long-jumper Anju Bobby George. Anju finished sixth at the Athens Games with a jump of 6.83m, a National record. But she has not been able to jump close to that distance in competition since then. In the meantime, she won the silver at the Doha Asian Games and finished first at the Asian Championships. However, this season she has failed to cross 6.55 metres.
But her confidence will also stem from the fact that there has been just one jump over seven metres this year, by an athlete who has qualified for the Olympics. Incidentally, she also points to the fact that before all her major medals she has had a lean season. While, the women’s 4X400 metres relay team may not be able to match the best in the world, they will try and improve up on their seventh place finish in the final of the Athens Olympics.
In the discuss throw, Vikas Gowda will give India an edge given the fact that he has been born and brought up in the United States and has trained with some of the best in the world. Also, JJ Shobha makes a comeback after being out of competition following a two-year break to recover from a hamstring injury at Athens.
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