The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Second best at Indian GP, but Jisna is the future
NOT OFTEN is MR Poovamma required to stretch every sinew at the finish-line in the women's 400 metres. The Incheon Asian Games bronze medalist has been the undisputed queen of the quarter-mile event at home. While her cabinet is adorned with gold medals, the facile wins also have a flip-side. In the absence of a genuine competitor, there has been no athlete who has consistently pushed Poovamma.
Only at international meets has the 26year-old felt the pressure from a host of challengers, but she has been craving for similar scenario to emerge on the domestic circuit.
The women's 400 metres final of the 2nd leg of the Indian Grand Prix was refreshing to watch. Poovamma did win gold, like she often does, but by only one-hundredth of a second. Going into the final stretch, Poovamma had to catch 18-year-old Jisna Mathew, who at this point in time looked like she would win gold. The seasoned athlete managed to relegate the youngster to second place only because she dipped at the finish-line. To the naked eye it was difficult to distinguish who had won the race and the photo finish camera had to separate the two.
Karnataka's Poovamma won gold with a timing of 52.66 seconds, a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Kerala's Jisna. West Bengal's Debashree Mazumdar was third at 54.00. This wasn't a watershed race for Poovamma — her personal best being 51.73 — rather it was the coming of age of Jisna, a trainee of PT Usha.
Registering a sub-53 second timing, Usha says, will give Jisna the belief that she belongs among the elite athletes in the country. Her previous best was 53.14, achieved on two occasions last year and in 2015. “I am happy that I could produce my personal best in the first race of the season. Going below 53 seconds will give me a lot of confidence,” Jisna said.
For someone who was running her first competitive race since the Under-20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, nine months ago, Jisna had no early season blues. “She has the potential to qualify for the World Championships if the season goes according to plan,” Usha said.
For a ticket to London in August, Jisna would have to touch 52.10 seconds. If Thursday's race is anything to go by, Jisna and Poovamma could push each other as they strive to meet the London World Championships qualifying standard in the 400m. Poovammaacknowledgedthatthe emergence of Jisna as a challenger was good for her and the event.
“The last time I experienced such a close race was during the Incheon Asian Games. That was between me and the eventual fourth-place finisher. When it comes to national meets, I have not had a strong challenger. Usually, I win the race and without strong competition at the national level, I can't really push myself. If Jisna continues in the same form, it is good for the sport,” Poovamma said.
Still in her teens, Jisna is a work in progress. During strength training, the maximum weight she carries when it comes to squats or shoulder exercises is capped at 10 kilograms. Her repetitions of 60 metres each is also limited to four, while senior athletes, during peak training, tend to perform up to to a dozen repetitions. During a week she clocks between 12 kilometres to 15, one third of what is the norm.
Easing Jisna into the workload is a deliberate strategy to avoid burnout or risk injury at a young age. Jisna also has a deceptive stride length for someone who stands at 156 centimeters or 5.12 feet. Interestingly, her lower body length is comparable to Usha, who stands at 170 centimeters
“Today's race really showed the potential Jisna has. I am extremely happy with the way Jisna ran and challenged Poovamma. She is much younger than Poovamma but today she proved that she is one for the future. I always believed she was a special talent but today by going below 53 seconds for the first time, she has taken a big step,” Usha said.
If one turns the clock back, for the sake of comparison, Usha clocked 53.24 seconds as a 19-year-old. Even while accounting for strides the sport has made over three decades, Jisna's 52.67 at the age of 18 puts her in elite company.
Registering a sub-53 second timing, PT Usha says, will give Jisna the belief that she belongs among the elite athletes in the country. Her previous best was 53.14, achieved on two occasions last year and in 2015.