Bind reboots after poor back, other setbacks
NEWDELHI: The world should have heard of Rajesh Kumar Bind before Neeraj Chopra. Instead it is Chopra, whose world junior javelin record is now almost three years old, from whom Bind has drawn positive vibes as he tries to resurrect a career interrupted by injuries.
In October 2012, Bind’s javelin travelled a distance of 80.14m, a junior national record which was not far from Trinidad’s Keshorn Walcott’s year’s best of 82.83. Bind was 18 and on the brink of big time. Chief coach Bahadur Singh called him to the India camp.
Things went downhill from there because of a spate of injuri es. Bind blames i t on t he absence of proper coaching in India during the formative years.
“We never did specific training to strengthen the core group of muscles. Since training was haphazard, a weak back led to my downfall,” said Bind, 25. Even when he made the national record, Bind said he felt a stab of pain in his back.
Bind was a middle-distance runner who, at 15, was the 1500m district champion. His parents wanted him to master the Three Rs but Bind fell in love with a fourth: running.
“My father is a small farmer. My parents wanted me to be a teacher and asked me to focus on academics but I got drawn to sport,” said Bind who is from Bhadohi district near Varanasi.
Running stopped suddenly because Bind kept falling ill; the harder he trained the faster he would break down. “My parents were scared that I might end up being bed-ridden as I was pale and weak. They told me to quit running (in 2008),” said Bind.
Javelin happened after jaundice, he said. Barred from running by his parents, Bind borrowed a spear and threw it 48m in his first attempt. That was all the encouragement he needed. He started training. Or what could be passed off as training.
“We depended on seniors to guide us. Sometime we would work like a donkey in training. It doesn’t help in the long run as I realised when I got injured. The focus should be technique not strength,” he said.
In 2009, Bind won the National School Games Under-16 title with a throw of 56.17m. He was selected by the Army Boys Company in Pune and for the first time got a good javelin, a carbon spear from Nordic Sport.
From 2010, with Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Kashinath Naik as coach, to 2012 he made good progress which included a fourth-place finish in the Asian juniors. But then his back gave way. In 2013, after being laid off for months, Bind again took the national junior title with a best of 74.52m. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games beckoned but Bind hurt his right knee during training at Patiala. “That set me back by seven to eight months,” he said. Next year, Bind injured his left knee.
He was contemplating giving up when Chopra set a world record of 86.48m in the world under-20 championships. “That motivated me to train again,” said Bind who is with the Army.
Bind lives with wife Sushma in Hyderabad where his regiment is posted. As he goes through a rehabilitation programme there, Bind is confident of a comeback and more. “Javelin throwers usually have long careers. I’m 25. Have a feeling that I can catch up. Once I get into good rhythm, I would be able to cross 85m,” he said. Chopra’s national record is 88.06m.