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Indian eye: Athletics
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Athletics at London
Ban on six tainted athletes extended by a year
Yuvi named among World T20 probables
Mandeep makes the cut
Record number of Indian scribes to cover Games
British Open Jeev Milkha leads Asian hopes
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Indian eye: Athletics
India finished 50th in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and, trying to shake off problems — doping, quality of training and coaching, etc — the stage is set for the athletes to improve on this performance in London. With over 500 days of rigorous, government-backed training, a budget of over Rs 11 crore and four camps, hopes are obviously high. However, despite the hard work and the mounting expectations, the ground reality is that the Indian athletes would need to perform out of their skins, have almost miraculous days of brilliance, to merely contend for medals, leave aside winning them. In case they fail to win a medal, the Indian athletes won’t be doing any harm to the already dismal Indian story of track and field performances at the Olympics. But they would do a great service to Indian athletics if they somehow bag that prized little metallic sphere which signifies sporting excellence at the Olympics. Every four years, India laments over what might have been. Milkha Singh and PT Usha, the greatest athletes India has produced, came close to winning a medal in athletics. Singh missed the bronze in a photo finish at Rome 1960 despite clocking a 45.8s, below the previous world record. In 1984, Usha came close to the podium in the 400m hurdles, being pipped by one hundredth of a second. When the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced the names of 14 athletes for London, everyone knew, in the heart of their hearts, that most of them are not medals prospects. For example, only a miracle can help 20km walker Gurmeet Singh finish among the top three as he needs to improve his time by at least a minute. Those who have observed him closely at the SAI centre in Bangalore say he is currently timing around 1h, 19m, 0s but is expecting to achieve 1:18:00 in London. More realistic medal hopes are the two discus throwers, Vikas Gowda and Krishna Poonia. The US-based Gowda became the first Indian to win a medal in the Diamond League when he bagged the bronze in New York last month with a throw of 64.86m. He had soared to the top of the IAAF's world performance chart of the season in April with a throw of 66.28m to win the first position in Oklahoma. It was also a new national record. “I am in top shape and feeling much more confident than I was during the 2008 Games. The foreign exposure and experience have given me confidence,” says Gowda, who has been training in the US for over an year. Meanwhile, the 31-year-old mother of one Krishna bagged the silver in Portland, US, last month with an effort of 62.34m. Her best show came with the silver-winning performance in Hawaii's Maui Island, where she bettered the national record with a throw of 64.76m. That was particularly thrilling, and she’s not brimming with confidence and hope. "I aim to touch the 65m mark and that should see me among the toppers in the Olympics," Poonia says. It's easier said than done, given the fact that the Indian track and field is in bad shape. Especially athletics, where doping controversies have taken their toll and deprived India of a strong bench strength. With no second string athletes available, those already in the circuit have a much harder role to perform. "We had more than 20 dope offenders and many of them were young and could have been medal hopes in the near future," says a senior official. "But now, for the next few years, there is too much to do to prepare athletes for the future, who could compete and win." Interview: Krishna Poonia Four years of discontent after her failure to qualify for the final round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics discus throw competition have changed Krishna Poonia. Krishna finished tenth in the qualifying round at Beijing with a throw of 58.23m, and vowed to return stronger. In these four years, her the gloom has slowly but surely faded. She became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, with a throw of 61.51m at New Delhi 2010. Equally satisfactory was setting a national record with a throw of 64.76m at the Halloween Throws Meet at Portland, USA, in May this year. Her journey hasn't been easy, and she's grateful that the hurdles in her path were cleared with the support of her husband and coach Virender Poonia and family. She had nearly decided to quit after the birth of her baby boy, but her husband motivated her to keep working for an Olympics medal. Now, with expectations of a medal rising, Krishna is trying to keep her emotions in check, her nerves in control, to ensure she doesn't feel the pressure. Talking with The Tribune over the phone from London, Krishna said she's not thinking of a medal at all — all she wants to do is keep calm and perform. "Everyone plays to win and so will I, but I don't want to get in the calculations at this stage," she said. "My focus is on improving my personal record. I and my husband are working on every detail that can be vital during the tournament, we're taking every step with caution." Krishna, who until a year ago was struggling with an injury, has overcome all problems and is in the best form of her life. "The past few months have been great," she said. "I'm really positive. I know I am shouldering a big responsibility but I am not feeling the pressure. I’m proud that I have another opportunity to fulfil the dream of my countrymen." — Gagan K. Teja
Keep an eye on... Tintu Luka: The 23-year-old 800m national record holder from Kerala is a student of none other than PT Usha. The Asian Games bronze medallist had finished sixth in the 2010 CWG Om Prakash: The 25-year old shot-putter from Haryana bettered his national record in May this year in Hungary Irfan Kolothum Thodi: The 22-year old competes in 20km walk and needs to improve a great deal in order to get into leading group Squad: The 14 Indian squad members are Basanta Bahadur Rana, Gurmeet Singh, Baljinder Singh, Irfan Kolothum Thodi, Ram Singh Yadav, Vikas Gowda, Om Prakash Karhana, Sahana Kumari, Krishna Poonia, Seema Antil, Mayookha Johny, Sudha Singh, Tintu Luka, Renjith Maheshwary
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Number of competitors 2,000 Each country is limited to three athletes in each individual event and one team in each relay event The athletics events run from August 3 to 12 Indian Angle
Schedule: Men Basanta Bahadur Rana (50km, August 11) Baljinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Irfan Kolothum Thodi (all 20km walk, August 4) Ram Singh Yadav (Marathon, August 12) Vikas Gowda (Discus throw, August 6-7) Om Prakash Karhana (Shot put, August 3) Renjith Maheshwary (Triple jump, August 7 and 9) Schedules:Women Tintu Luka (800m, August 8-9 and 11) Sudha Singh (3000m steeplechase, August 4, 6) Seema Antil, Krishna Poonia (Discus throw, August 3-4) Mayookha Johny (Triple-jump, August 3, 5) Sahana Kumari (High jump, August 9, 11) Format There are 57 medals events (24 track, 16 field, two combined, 5 road) Track events: Sprints, middle and long races Field: Throwing, jumping Combined: Decathlon for men, heptathlon for women Road: Marathon, walks Favourites
At London, watch out for the sprint clash between the two Jamaicans, Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. Also Yelena Isinbayeva in women's pole vault and Jamaica's 4x100m team In Poonia's event, discus throw, at Beijing 2008, a throw of 62.59m won bronze. Poonia set a new record of 64.76m in June, rising hopes of a medal Titbits
It was the first marathon of his life, and he won easily America's Ray Ewry won 10 gold in1900-1908 in the standing long jump, high jump and triple jump. As a child, he was confined to a wheelchair due to polio. He exercised until he could walk, then trengthened them through jumping At the London 1948 Games, the USA's Guinn Smith became the last pole vaulter to win a gold medal using a bamboo pole
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Ban on six tainted athletes extended by a year
Patiala, July 18 The six athletes were caught for the use of banned steroids during testing and were let off with a one-year ban. More than the decision, it is the timing of the decision that worries India. The decision is surely bound to have some impact on India's 81-member contingent, especially athletes. Highly placed sources in the IAAF confirmed to The Tribune that the six athletes would now serve a one-year ban in addition to the already-served one-year period. "A decision to this effect came yesterday evening and was duly conveyed to the Indian athletics federation, which was a party to the case," they stated. A few months ago the National Anti Doping Agency Panel headed by former judge C.K. Mahajan had given some reprieve to these athletes by backdating their one year suspensions from the date of their tests, to open the door for these athletes to compete in the London Olympics qualifiers. Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu, two international-level athletes, were tested in May 2011 under IAAF regulations and the IAAF had appealed against the disciplinary panel's decision. In the case of the other four, the appeal is against the verdict of the NADA appeals panel. While the IAAF stressed that the athletes took ginseng supplements without any content verification, the NADA panel says that the athletes trusted their federation-appointed coach. The panel had handed a lenient one-year ban to the six quartermilers, including Asian Games double gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji. But the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) filed an appeal with the CAS against the NADA panel decision, asking for a two-year ban. The upshot is that the athletes would be out of recognised tournaments for another one year. The six athletes are Akkunji, Sini Jose, Mandeep Kaur, and quartermilers Priyanka Panwar, Juana Murmu and Tiana Mary Thomas. The period of their one-year ban by the NADA panel ended last month. The relay quartet of Akkunji, Mandeep, Sini and Manjeet Kaur won the gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China.
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Yuvi named among World T20 probables
Seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, 32, who has been on the sidelines for a quite some time due to poor form, has also been included in the squad.
A few promising youngsters such as all-rounder Mandeep Singh and wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha and domestic veterans such as batsman Ambati Rayudu were picked in the list announced by the BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale. Paceman Laxmipathy Balaji, who last played an international match in 2009, was also part of the provisional list which will be pruned to a 15-member squad at a later stage. Yuvraj, who started practicing in Bangalore's National Cricket Academy after undergoing chemtherapy in the US earlier this year, was targetting a return to international cricket with the World Twenty20 Championships. In the T20 format, he is best remembered for his astonishing six sixes off one Stuart Broad over at the 2007 edition of the mega-event. The Top 30
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R. Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Mandeep Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Naman Ojha, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, L
Balaji. The 30-year-old Yuvraj was expected to make the cut at least in the preliminary list given that the selectors were themselves keen on having the flamboyant left-hander back in the squad. Surprise picks in the squad are long-forgotten Balaji, who has not played any Twenty20 for the national team. In fact, Balaji's last ODI appearance for the country was back in 2009 against Sri Lanka. The rest of the squad features players who have been in and out of the team on a rotational basis. Youngsters in the line-up include batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who would be filling up for Sachin Tendulkar in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan, who endured an indifferent tour of the West Indies with the India A squad, has also been included. The IPL effect was there to be seen in the squad with the selectors including 20-year-old all-rounder Mandeep Singh in the squad.
— PTI |
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Mandeep makes the cut
Chandigarh, July 18 "I had a gala time in the last season of IPL and it was a nice experience to play at such a platform. Right now I am working on many aspects and my selection has given me a real boost. Hopefully I will impress the selectors after giving my best at the camp" said Mandeep. "My coach, Vikram Rathore, and my family members have stood by me in all times and I hope I will make them proud," added Mandeep. When asked about the upcoming camp, he said: "It will be great exposure but on the same time there will be a great competition. I will focus on all aspects to overcome every hurdle. It will be great learning experience under senior players and expert coaches. On the shorter version of the game, he said: "The T-20 format is a quick and unpredictable format of cricket. You can be a star in one go but it has the power to dull your image, if you not perform well under pressure. Game is all about bearing pressure. And T20 is the best platform for the newcomers," he said.
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Record number of Indian scribes to cover Games
Mumbai: A record number of journalists from India, the highest so far, have been given accreditations to report on the London Olympic Games, according to IOC chief Jacques Rogge. "This summer will be an important one for Indian sports journalism, as more journalists from your country than ever before have been accredited to cover the Games. The quality of the news coverage of London 2012 will go a long way in defining how people remember the Indian athletes and the Games themselves," said Rogge.
— PTI |
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Yes, the news from the tracks is rather grim. India is still trying to sneak a medal or two in athletics at the Olympic Games. India’s best stories from the Olympics athletics competitions are all sob stories – Henry Rebello, Milkha Singh, PT Usha... India desperately dreams of a happy tale in London — which seems increasingly unlikely. 
Patiala, July 18
Yes, the news from the tracks is rather grim. India is still trying to sneak a medal or two in athletics at the Olympic Games. India’s best stories from the Olympics athletics competitions are all sob stories – Henry Rebello, Milkha Singh, PT Usha... India desperately dreams of a happy tale in London — which seems increasingly unlikely.
Won bronze in the 2006 Doha Asian Games
Food poisoning At Oz camp:
Three Australian badminton players were confined to bed on Wednesday after suffering food poisoning at their training base in Derby. Ross Smith, Glenn Warfe and Renuga Veeran (pic) were all taken ill, meaning they could not take part in a warm-up match against Britain
Blake burns Lucerne track:
World 100m champion Yohan Blake has sent out a clear warning to fellow sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt ahead of the London Olympics by achieving a 9.85s win in Lucerne on Tuesday night, his third quickest time this summer
Archers may do a Ganguly:
India's male archers plan to do Sourav Ganguly's torso-baring celebrations if they notch up an Olympic medal at Lord's, the archery venue. Tarundeep Rai said: "At this moment, we are not looking too far... But surely, we would celebrate like Ganguly had done (in 2002)."
Eight men and six women
would represent India.
The US is dominant,
with than 300 gold overall. They won 7 gold at Beijing 2008,
one ahead of Russia, Kenya and Jamaica. Jamaica is a rising sprinting
power, with 8 gold in the last two Olympics.
At Helsinki 1952, Emil
Zatopek performed the amazing feat of winning gold in 5000m,
10000m and the marathon, with new records.
New Delhi, July 18