Sorry show on the track

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The famous words ring alarmingly true when it comes to Indian athletics. The season of big achievements 2016 was supposed to be became such a sham that it instantly brought forth similar disastrous forays in the past.

It was Sydney 2000 revisited as a big Indian athletics contingent, in fact the biggest sent to an Olympic Games from this country, returned from the Rio Games with little to show for the time, efforts and energy spent on it. As the year comes to a close, through a cloud of dope, only Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in javelin at the World Junior Championships stood out, offering some solace.

In the build-up to the Olympic Games, the entire focus of the Athletics Federation of India was on ensuring that maximum number of athletes met the qualifying standard. Training camps abroad and competitions at home and abroad continued till the very last moment, producing some stunning, unbelievable deeds.

Prior to Rio 12 National records were rewritten in the year. Those included a stunning 17.30M in triple jump by Renjith Maheswary, Ankit Sharma’s 8.19 in long jump, 11.24 seconds by Dutee Chand in the women’s 100M and a 3:00.91 in the men’s 4x400M relay. They seemed too good to be true and the proof came at Rio.

Lalita Babbar was the saving grace for the country as she entered the final of the women’s 3000M steeplechase with a superb national record of 9:19.76. Lalita, who had distinguished herself at the Beijing World Championships with an eighth place, finished 10th at Rio. She was the first Indian track athlete since P T Usha in 1984 to make the Olympic final.

Marathon runners T Gopi and Kheta Ram turned in personal best performances, doing their reputation no harm. Women’s marathoner O P Jaisha, who fainted at the finish, later accused the authorities of not providing her with energy drinks, triggering a controversy and a subsequent probe that eventually cleared the AFI officials of any lapses.

Dope tales are never too far from Indian athletics. This year was no different, with two big fish falling in the net. Shot-putter Inderjeet Singh, the standout performer in the last two seasons, and sprinter Dharambir Singh missed the flight to Rio after their samples returned positive. Conspiracy theories were floated but they cut no ice and Dharambir was banned for eight years, with Inderjeet’s case yet to be decided.

Just after the Olympic qualifying phase ended, Chopra, who had won the South Asian Games gold earlier in the year, hurled the javelin to a world junior record of 86.48 metres to win the Junior World Championships gold at Bydogszcz, Poland. His progress will be keenly watched in the New Year, when the country will play host to the Asian Championships at Ranchi. The seniors’ show too will be keenly followed, with records to be consumed perforce with spoonfuls of salt.

RK