SPORTS

Anju needs to change technique in flight to 
land on her feet
The quest to hit 7-metre-mark
Cecil Victor

If Anju Bobby George is to jump 7 metres at the Athens Olympics next year, she will have to make herself small in the short time span between take-off and landing. And, she must land on her feet instead of her rump. In short, Anju Bobby George will have to learn aerodynamics—the science of flight—between now and Athens.

She can do it. Everybody, and most importantly, her American coach Mike Powell, himself the world record holder in long jump, and husband-coach Bobby George, believe that she can jump 7 metres at Athens.

But she will have to reduce her bodydrag in midair and land on her feet and roll forward if she is to improve her jump by the 30 centimetres (12 inches) over the distance—6.70 metres—that brought her the bronze at the World Athletics Championship in France.

Photographs and video clips of Anju jumping in the World Championship show that she opens her whole body at the height of her trajectory, thereby increasing the drag caused by air pressure which draws her down, before she can attain her full potential. Her landing with her feet close to her rump also robs her of distance.

Coach Mike Powell said that “We will have to crack a few things to make her better”. He should know. He broke the great Bob Beamon’s world record by jumping 8.95 metres at the Tokyo World Championship in 1991.

Bob Beamon perfected the art of reducing drag and headwind effect in flight by bringing his head close to his knees at the height of his trajectory. It made him small in the air, something like the nosecone of a satellite in flight.

That technique will help Anju gain several inches in distance.

But the real improvement will come when she perfects her landing.

For that she will have to learn the art of the parachutists—those other practitioners of aerodynamics..

When they hit the ground on their feet, they roll forward to break the effect of the fall by distributing the bodyweight to the shoulder in one forward motion.

For Anju, this technique will prevent her from falling on her rump and thus lose valuable distance. It is not easy because soft sand tends to suck the athlete down but the posture in the air would have set the stage for landing in a manner that will give some forward traction to the knees.

If Anju is able to control her body posture in the split second she is flying through the air, the parachutist-type landing will come automatically.

Other airborne techniques to improve forward thrust include the bicycle peddle.

The fact that headwind—the airspeed flowing in the opposite direction of the running athlete—is a factor in assessing performance, aerodynamics plays an important part in a successful jump.

Mike Powell knows this. He talked of her “mechanics”.

Anju to receive cash bonanza from Ministry
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, September 9
It’s bonanza time for Anju Bobby George. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has released a sum of Rs 12 lakh from the National Sports Development Fund for the training of Anju George under Mike Powell for her preparation for the Olympic Games in Athens next year.

The Ministry has shown this magnanimous gesture towards Anju for her bronze-medal winning performance in the recently-concluded World Athletic Championship in Paris.

The Ministry has also sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 1,79,550 for her participation in the World Athletics final to be held in Monaco on September 13 and 14.

Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vikram Verma has sent his best wishes for Anju for the upcoming finals of the World Athletics, and hoped that she would continue to maintain her medal-winning form both at Monaco and then at Athens.

TVS to sponsor Challenger Cricket

New Delhi, September 9
TVS Motor Company’s association with domestic cricket has been further strengthened with its agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to sponsor the Challenger Series. The deal will entitle TVS to exclusive naming rights to the series, on ground signage, rights to award man of the match and man of the series trophies for international cricket in India till 2006.

TVS Motor Company’s increasing involvement in the game emanates from its past experience. The TVS sponsored Challenger Series promises four days of exciting cricket action between September 10 and 14 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Ganga judo teams

Ganga School will field teams in both the boys and girls section in the CBSE National Judo Championship to be held in Chandigarh.

The teams: Boys: Rohit Deshwal, Mohit, Joginder, Vijay Lakra, Dharamvir, Ravinder Kharab, Sahil Dhankar, Mohit Singh, Narinder Dahiya, Gaurav and Ankit Garg.

Girls: Savita, Kudrat Yadav, Urvashi, Reshma, Mamta Lakra and Surita Lohia. Ms Santosh Rajput will be the coach. OSR

City Club humble New Delhi Heroes
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, September 9
City Club trounced New Delhi Heroes 3-0 in a Group B Super League match of the DSA Senior Division Football League Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium on Tuesday. Faiz Alam, Naveen Malik and Irfan Khan were the scorers for City Club.

In another match, Simla Youngs were held to a goalless draw by Shahdara.

Wednesday’s fixtures: Shastri Club vs Raisina Sporting Union (2.15 pm); Hindustan vs Indian National (4 pm)—Ambedkar Stadium.

Delhi Cantt KVS annex title
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, September 9
Deadly bowling by Rahul Mehta, who claimed seven wickets for 9 runs, enabled Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan No. 1, Delhi Cantonment defeat Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Push Vihar by nine wickets in the title clash of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Under-19 Cricket Tournament at the KVS No 1 ground, Delhi Cantonment. KVS, Hindon defeated KVS, Sector 8, R K Puram by 69 runs to secure the third place.

Scores: Push Vihar: 50 all out in 18.1 overs (Alok Bisht 18, 2x4, Vijay Singh 11, Rahul Mehta 7 for 9, Sarabjit Singh 1 for 8, Sumit 1 for 23). Delhi Cantt: 51 for 1 in 8.2 wickets (Banjeet Singh 17 n o, Sumit 13 n o, Ashwani Joshi 1 for 17). KVS, Hindon: 154 for 8 in 20 overs (Sunil Chaudhary 57, Kamanshu Shukla 30, Kumar Samanta 2 for 22).

KVS, R K Puram: 85 all out in 15 overs (Ajay Rawat 15, Deepak Kumar 14, Amrinder Singh 3 for 4, Sunil Chaudhary 2 for 26, Subodh Kumar 2 for 26).