THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It wasn’t long ago that triple jumper AV Rakesh Babu was having sleepless nights.
Thrown out of 2018 Commonwealth Games for breaching the “no needles policy” along with racewalker KT Irfan, Rakesh was accused by some of doping, tarnishing the image of the nation and embarrassing the Indian athletics fraternity. Others speculated that he could be banned for life.
Unlike Irfan, who had already completed his 20km racewalk event, 28-year-old Rakesh’s stakes were higher, having qualified for the final of his event. But the duo was sent home and Rakesh never made it to Carrara Stadium as his dream met with a bitter end. However, little did he know then that it was just the beginning of a long and painful ordeal.
“I couldn’t make even my parents understand what had happened. They were shattered that I may get a lifetime ban. Even my relatives, neighbours and people who were acquainted with me believed that I had used illegal drugs,” says Rakesh, choking up as he recollected those bitter memories. “It was hard to explain to people outside the sport. So, I stopped trying after a while.”
After tests, Rakesh was eventually cleared of any doping violations. But the scars the whole experience had left on him were deep.
“After the Games, Rakesh would come to me for help at 2 and 3am,” says Bedros Bedrosian, India’s foreign coach for triple and long jump.
“The incident affected him as well as the whole team. Everyone knew it wasn’t intentional. He is not someone who lies, and everyone who knows him well realises that he is a good kid.”
“Many athletes take injections on their own as they do not want to pay over the odds for doctors at international events. Rakesh was taking Neurobion (Vitamin B complex injection) as recommended by his doctor. But unfortunately, he left a syringe in his bag, which is against the rules of the Games,” says Bedrosian.
“The coach and other athletes who train with me have been very supportive. It also helped to have a wife who is also an athlete and can understand what happened back in Gold Coast,” says Rakesh, who is married to KD Sindhu, a former national champion in heptathlon.
These days, Rakesh cuts a calm figure at Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education in Thiruvananthapuram, where he’s preparing for Asian Games. He’s left behind his days of loathing and self-doubt, and is focussed on the target ahead. However, a sense of regret about how things went down in Australia is there. He still trains while wearing a Gold Coast 2018 t-shirt.
Time has healed some of his hurt, and also the knee injury he’d been carrying for a few years. But what he really needs is a good performance in Indonesia to help bury the ghosts of that harrowing experience.
“My preparations for Asian Games have been better than what I’d done for CWG,” says Rakesh. “I want to use my disappointment in Australia to fuel a better performance.”
The athlete from Kozhikode jumped 15.98m to qualify for the CWG final, and in the process aggravated his long-standing injury. “It made me believe that I couldn’t have done my best even if I was allowed to participate. So, that was some consolation if you can call it that,” he says.
However, signs are that the triple jumper is in a much better shape heading to the Asiad, having done a personal best of 16.63m in Guwahati in June.
“My knee hurts very little these days, and training has been encouraging. I still have a couple of weeks to put in my best. It’s an added advantage that I am training nearer to home, where I can be with my family,” says Rakesh, who was nurtured by SAI coach George P Joseph before joining the Indian Navy in 2011.
“I feel that Rakesh is reaching peak form ahead of Asian Games. He did his personal best recently and I expect him to improve in Jakarta. If things go our way, we might possibly have two medal winners in men’s triple jump in Jakarta,” says Bedrosian.
Arpinder Singh is India’s best hope for a medal in the event. Rakesh though is determined to set things right. He came home from Gold Coast in shame. From Jakarta, he might just come back with a medal.
adwaidh@newindianexpress.com