Spotlight on Davinder, Lakshmanan

It is the last major stop of a long season and weary limbs notwithstanding, the country’s athletes will be stretching it out one more time at the 57th Open National Championships beginning at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.

The Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar was the highlight of the season for the top guns and with the athletics competitions of the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games also ending at Ashgabad in Turkmenistan, it is almost winding up time for the seniors.

Indeed, the long season seems to have taken its toll and a look at the entry lists here bears that out, with some top names staying away, taking the sheen off the championships.

In contrast to the Olympic year when many athletes touched unbelievable highs only to slump to realistic levels at the big bash, it has been a rather quiet year in terms of record-breaking shows.

Even at the Asian Championships, where India topped the table with 11 gold, the performances weren’t eye-catching. At the World Championships that followed, predictable efforts prompted even the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to term them as ‘poor.’

Now the focus is on the next season, when the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games are scheduled. The Open Nationals could have been considered as a first step towards the major meets but with the AFI not yet announcing the qualification standards as promised, even those athletes who have journeyed here have very little to aim for.

The federation, on its part, has added two more events to the calendar late in the season – a 400M championships for men, women, under-20, under-18 and under-20 categories at Dharamsala on October 22 and 23 and a javelin contest, also in October at a venue yet to be specified. How beneficial these meets will be is anybody’s guess, coming in close proximity to the Open Nationals and the Junior Nationals.

From the competition point of view, spotlight will be on distance runner G Lakshmanan -- who won the 3000M at Ashgabad -- as well as on long jumpers and triple jumpers. Ankit Sharma (long jump) and Arpinder Singh (triple) feature in the entries but there was no confirmation whether they would take part.

Of the leading quartermilers, only Karnataka ace M R Poovamma, representing ONGC, is expected to take part, with Jisna Mathew, Anilda Thomas and Nirmala Sheroan staying away. There is no Anu Raghavan either, to up the pace in the hurdles. In the men’s 400M too, national record holder Mohd Anas and Arokia Rajiv are not in the picture.

In 800 metres, champ Tintu Luka isn’t ready for a return after a bout of dengue fever, while 1500M champion P U Chitra is also missing. In the event, the presence of Sudha Singh (women’s 3000M steeplechase) and Davinder Singh Kang (men’s javelin throw) stirs interest.

Kang, the Asian bronze medallist, was in the news after threatening to move to Italy, upset at being denied a TOPS spot. In the absence of Neeraj Chopra, Kang will be the favourite and he expressed the desire to go big.

“It is not that I wanted to go to Italy. They approached me and I was upset that despite being a top thrower, I am not considered for TOPS. I want to prove myself with another big throw here, that is all my wish,” Kang said.

Karnataka’s hopes

With many of their top athletes turning out for either Railways, Services or ONGC, Karnataka’s hopes will rest on the likes of H M Jyothi (100M) and G K Vijayakumari (400M), Joyline Lobo (triple jump) and Khyathi Vakharia (pole vault).

A point of interest is the presence of Satyanarayana as the team’s coach. With his credentials as a coach for Paralympians coming under question from various quarters, the former middle-distance runner has adopted a different way to prove his point.