A makeover that matters for Arpinder
MUMBAI: Newly crowned Asian Games triple jump champion Arpinder Singh is fashion conscious and the number of his Instagram followers testifies to that. But the image makeover that has delighted him the most is winning over detractors in his village following the Jakarta success.
Arpinder Singh ended a 48-year wait for an Indian Games champion last month, a tribute to his perseverance despite a string of early failures that drew ridicule from his villagers.
Arpinder tried 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump before settling on triple jump, in which he is now Asia’s best.
“I took to athletics at 12 but I failed in whichever event I tried. My father was very disappointed … it seemed as if I was not destined to be an athlete. Fortunately I met coach DS Bal in Amritsar who asked me to try triple jump,” Arpinder said on Tuesday during a Godrej Cinthol event here. his golden feat in Jakarta reached them, the same detractors made a beeline for his home to congratulate his father.
“People in my village used to tell my father ‘your son won’t do well in life’. When I was practicing hard, nobody had anything positive to say, most of them would discourage me. But after my success, they have become my admirers and that is my biggest achievement,” he said.
EYE ON RECORD
Arpinder, followed his Asian Games gold by winning bronze in the IAAF Continental Cup in Czech Republic (first by an Indian athlete). He is now eyeing a record-breaking performance in the 2019 World Championships in Doha. The first target is to better his personal best of 17.17m, achieved in 2014. His immediatefocusis ontheopen Nationals starting in Bhubaneswar on September 24, for which he is training in Kerala.
‘MERCEDES ARE OVER-DELIVERING’
LONDON : Mercedes are over-delivering in the Formula One title battle and going from strength to strength, according to championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton won convincingly in Singapore on Sunday, his seventh victory of the season, to go 40 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with six races remaining and a fifth title beckoning. “The car’s true pace is 100 and we are putting out 102,” the Mercedes website quoted the Briton, who headed to Thailand for some promotional work before a few days off, as saying.
“Our understanding of the car, how to utilise the tools that we have — we’re far more comfortable at our job right now,” he added.
WADA URGED NOT TO LIFT RUSSIAN BAN
PARIS: Global doping watchdog WADA was urged on Monday not to reinstate Russia as its drug-tainted testing authority “has not yet fulfilled its obligations to the global sporting community”.
The warning from the Institute of National Anti-doping Organisations (INADO) comes two days before the World Anti-doping Agency meets to discuss lifting the ban after being given the green light from investigators.
Earlier Monday, US drugs czar Travis Tygart told AFP WADA would be delivering a hammer blow to the morale of clean athletes if it lifts sanctions against Russia.