Indian Athletics Thread ...

[kujo]

Thanks for the reality check Arjun.

I still think Hima will make it from the second rung to the top level where Neeraj currently is.... Not sure of the other two Shankars!

[sameerph]

I think it may not be realistic to expect both Shankers and Hima to be in medal contention at Tokyo. Even Shreeshanker mentioned yesterday that his target at Tokyo would be making the finals and that would be realistic target for Hima and Tejswin too. If they continue to progress and avoid major injuries, they should peak at 2024 olympics.

Today, at national open athletics, in mens 3000M steepalchase Avinash Sabale broke 37 year old national record of Gopal Saini with a timing of 8:29.80s.That was the oldest standing national record as of today. Timing is far off from world standards but good to see old records getting broken. So, the old national records standing from 70's and 80's of Sriram Singh and Gopal Saini are gone now.

The oldest one standing now is PT Usha's record of 55.42 sec in womens 400M hurdles at Los Angles olympics in 1984.

[Mugundan]

Jinson Johnson at 27-plus need not be clubbed with the other four, Hima, Neeraj, Tejaswin, Sreeshankar, since he would be 29-plus by the time Tokyo arrives. A middle distance runner can surely continue into his/her 30s but just on the basis of one season or on timings that fit into 40s and 80s an Indian athlete should not be considered as an Olympic medal prospect. I think too much of media hype has created an impression that India is poised to win medals in Tokyo Olympics. Except for Chopra, a few places in the final there would be highly creditable.

[Atithee]

Exactly Mugu especially considering that we severely underperform at world stage. Part “non spinach” part pressure.

[jaydeep]

Another one to keep an eye on?
The 18 yrs. old Nitesh Poonia created a National record in the hammer throw with the 81.47m throw ... He broke the previous record by 6 meters, which held by the 19yrs. old Ashish Jakhar ... Nitesh's effort was the worlds' 4th best throw in u-18 men's category this year.

[Mugundan]

Another one to keep an eye on?
The 18 yrs. old Nitesh Poonia created a National record in the hammer throw with the 81.47m throw ... He broke the previous record by 6 meters, which held by the 19yrs. old Ashish Jakhar ... Nitesh's effort was the worlds' 4th best throw in u-18 men's category this year.

We also have to keep in mind all such domestic performances need not be repeated in major championships and all such under-18 athletes need not fulfil their promise when they come into senior section (for whatever reason). In 2012, a UP u-18 boy threw the javelin to 80-m-plus. In two subsequent years he did 74-plus and 70-plus! He has not been heard of since! Let these youngsters produce top-class results consistently at international level and then only we can talk about what may happen in future.

[jaydeep]

Agree Mugu, we should take u18 performance with a pinch of salt.

[jaydeep]

Our race walker Irfan Kolothum Thodi finished fourth in the Asian Race Walking Championship at Nomi, Japan to become the first Indian athlete to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics and IAAF World Championships ... The Tokyo Olympics qualification standard is 1 hour 21 minutes ... And this year’s World Championships, (September 27-October 6) in Doha, Qatar, with the qualifying mark of 1:22:30 ... Devinder Singh and Ganapathi Krishnan also qualified for the World Championships as they clocked 1:21:22 and 1:22:12 respectively.

At Asian Race Walking Championships 2019, Nomi, Japan

Men 20km Race Walk
4 Irfan Kolothum Thodi (IND) 1:20.57s (Tokyo 2020 and WC qualified)
Devinder Singh (IND) 1:21:22s (WC qualified)
Ganapathi Krishnan (IND) 1:22:12s (WC qualified)

[jaydeep]

Tintu Luka has decided to retire as per PT Usha ... She missed the 2018 Asian Games due to a nagging heel injury.

It seems she has decided to end her successful career. Her coach PT Usha has sent a letter to the AFI asking it to remove her name from the list of national campers.

[sameerph]

That is a bit sad. Expected a lot from her coming from Usha's school and with a promising start. In the end, she has an individual Asiad silver and a bronze medal to show apart from relay gold.

Hope Usha can get someone else from her coaching stable to shine better for India soon.

[jaydeep]

Neeraj Chopra has undergone elbow surgery, the arthroscopic surgery on his throwing right hand was done to remove bone fragments from his elbow joint ... The recovery is likely to take 3 to 4 months, so he will miss the prestigious Diamond League series and doubts over his participation in the World Championships (September-October).

[sameerph]

This is a big concern coming in the year before olympics. Hope he recovers completely from this by end of the year at ;east if not for world championships.

[Sin Hombre]

Good article about our continued celebration of mediocrity.

https://scroll.in/field/931404/five-gol ... s-no-sense

Despite PKB's protestations to the contrary, Divij has a much higher profile in India than he would ever do as a Brit.

[Sin Hombre]

Wondering if mugu had anything to share on Hima's poor performances since the Jakarta Asian Games.

I was hoping to see her close to 50s by end of 2019 but she hasn't even gone below 52s all season.

[Dinakaran]

World championship starts today...hope we get to respectable place