Of hopes and medals

IF the situation on the organisational front is far from satisfactory, hopefully the preparation of India’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) probables should not be in the same vein. The CWG has been a more gainful hunting ground than the Asian Games or the Olympics.

The boxers, wrestlers, archers, shooters and a couple of swimmers have some successes to show in their recent tours abroad. But the track and field athletes have, by and large, not given performances that will put them in serious contention for medals at the Nehru Stadium.

Being the most populous country in the Commonwealth, India’s position in the medal-list in October 2010 should be befittingly high, if not at the top. Otherwise the whole point of hosting the games will be lost. India were fourth in the 2006 Games medal table at Melbourne behind hosts Australia, England and Canada in that order. Its haul included 22 gold medals, 17 silver and 11 bronze out of a total of 50. A more decent haul of medals and a higher place in the honours list will be a most satisfying compensation for Delhi and the rest of the country for all the worrying time and troubles it will have gone through to put the 19-discipline show together.

The Union Sports Ministry had earmarked Rs 678 crore for the training of our sportspersons. As a rule, training schedules are prepared in a way to see that players peak at the right time. So it may be a little early to assess the preparedness of our athletes. At best only a rough idea can be formed of India’s medal chances.

A major share of India’s gold medals in 2006 came through the efforts of our shooters. Expectations are high now that Abhinav Bindra, with his historic gold medal at last year’s Beijing Olympic, has raised the bar. Others will be inspired to follow his example. Gagan Narang, for one, has given some good performances in shooting competitions abroad.

The boxing ring, the wrestling mat and the weightlifting stage are other places where India can be expected to swell their medal haul at the Commonwealth Games. Akhil Kumar gave India its solitary boxing gold medal in the Melbourne ring in the 54 kg category, Vijender Singh, then competing in the 69kg category, and Harpreet Singh (91kg) picking up a silver each. There were also a couple of bronze medals. If anything, Indian boxing is in better health, with at least four Indians in the top 10 of the latest international rankings.

The wrestlers, too, inspired by Sushil Kumar, who fetched India a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, hope to bag quite a few medals. They will also have the advantage of wrestling before their home supporters.

Teen-aged swimmers Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal, who are now in the top 100 in the world, gave exciting performances in the Asian championships at Tokyo. They are the up and coming stars of Indian swimming and can be relied upon for medals next year.

Badminton players are another medal hope with Saina Nehwal among the world top 10 and a couple of others who have been doing well at international tournaments.

In ball games like table tennis and squash players like Sharath Kamal and Joshna Chinappa have been doing well. However, the scene in track and field is not so bright. For all the training and coaching abroad, our athletes are not really in the international medal class. They have won events in some second-class meets in England. But winning in these meets doesn’t count for much. World-class meets are different, as our athletes found at Berlin. Maha Singh is a long jumper capable of leaping eight metres, but unless he improves even he is not a medal certainty.

Discus thrower Seema Antil did well to win a silver in the women’s discus in 2006. But Seema, and also Krishna Poonia, will have to make significant improvement to stand a chance next year in Delhi. When it is time to peak, let’s hope the 4 x 400 metres relay girls are also there. They had brought India a silver medal at Melbourne.

There are indications that India will better their previous medal tally. The question is how much better.

— KD