LACUNAE IN SPORTS
THE CHALLENGES Most athletes don’t get the right grooming during the transition years. A good coaching plan, which can change careers, is also missing
During the 2002 Junior World Championship in Kingston, Jamaica, Usain Bolt won his maiden title, a gold in 200m. In the previous edition, the lissome Russian athlete, Yelena Isinbayeva, had won the pole vault title. Within a few years of their achievements, both the athletes became legends.
An Indian woman athlete, standing six feet and having a built to match her imposing height, was also cornering glory not far from where Bolt had given an indication of his immense talent. Seema Antil won gold in 2000, but soon lost it, owing to a positive dope test. She was issued a public warning and let off. Antil was back in the very next edition in 2002, winning bronze.
While Bolt and Isinbayeva emerged as one of the greatest athletes of all time, Antil’s career graph didn’t quite take off, mired in controversies and injury struggles. The contrast is stark. Antil’s best achievement came as late as the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, where 18, she won silver in 100m, 200m the 1982 Asian Games. She rrowly missed bronze in 400m rdles at the 1984 Los Angeles lympics.
e won three medals, including gold 800m at the Asian junior meet in 92. During the 2000 Sydney lympics, she reached the 400m mis. In the 2002 Asian Games, she on three medals, two of them gold, 800m and 4x400m relay. she won gold — at 30 years of age.
Scores of Indian athletes simply lose their way while graduating to the senior level, and while Antil and long jumper Anju Bobby George did manage to eke out some decent performances over the years, the majority don’t even cross the proverbial threshold of success.
So, what’s it about Indian athletes that stop them from taking the big leap?
It’s perhaps the huge number of insurmountable challenges that prevent them from moving to the next level.
Antil concedes she didn’t get the right grooming during her transition years. “That was around 17-18 years back, It’s lacking even today. There are still no customised plans for talented athletes, no state-of-the-art facilities and no scientific backup,” says Antil.
“There have been a few junior athletes who’ve done well in the last four-five years, but none of them were extended special training. I am afraid they might have to go through the same troubles I encountered. You cannot put everyone on the same old conveyor belt,” she adds.
A new crop of athletes, such as Delhi sprinter Amoj Jacob, who broke the decade-old 400m record in the U-20 category at the junior national meet in Vijayawada last year, is emerging. Former chief She became the first Indian to win a medal (bronze) in the 2003
World Championship.
She finished fifth in the 2004 Athens
Olympics and won gold in the 2005
World Athletics
Final. She claimed bronze in discus at the 2002 Junior World Championship. Though she won gold at the 2014 Incheon
Asian Games, her performance the Olympics and World Championship hasn’t been encoura
The middle-distance runner from Haryana shot to fame when he won gold at the Asian Youth Championship in 2015. The 19-year-old Olympic hopeful suffered a setback because of overtraining. He is yet to make an impression.
JOB SECURITY
In 2016, another junior athlete Neeraj Chopra created history, clinching gold with a junior world record in javelin at the U-20 Junior World Championship.
On his return, Neeraj started focusing on getting a decent government job to secure his future.
“Most seniors advised me to get a decent job first. They said a sportsperson’s life is unpredictable and you never know when an injury will halt your career. I am happy I was accommodated by the Indian Army,” said Neeraj.
Antil is livid. “Why should an athlete like Neeraj worry about his future? It should be the responsibility of the government. Players should have confidence that they would be taken care of if something adverse happens,” she says.
SCORES OF INDIAN ATHLETES SIMPLY LOSE THEIR WAY WHILE GRADUATING TO THE SENIOR LEVEL. IT’S PERHAPS THE HUGE NUMBER OF CHALLENGES THAT PREVENT THEM FROM MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
The 19-old-year high jumper also holds the senior national record of 2.26m. He is hopeful of raising the bar further in the 2018 season
In 2016, the javelin thrower set a world record of 86.48monwaytogoldintheU-20 World Championship. He went on to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.