The first thing that struck me as soon as I walked out of the confines of the air-conditioned arrival terminal of the Lucknow Airport was the humidity. The sun was peeking between scattered clouds but the temperature would have been hovering around 33-34 degrees. The humidity was sapping. Drenched to the bone while waiting for the cab to arrive for 10 minutes, I never fathomed that the two most-used words at the Inter-state Athletics Championships would not be records or qualifications but heat and humidity. And of course dope testing (after World Anti-Doping Agency banned National Dope Testing Laboratory). The city of Nawabs, known for its infinite variety of kebabs and biryanis, had not really warmed up to the athletics show.
It may not be the sport they follow closely but there were a sprinkling of spectators at 35th Vahini PAC ground athletics track. There were athletes from all corners of the country vying for a piece of metal. Among them were a few whose sights were on the World Championships in Doha later in September. After four days, the number of athletes who qualified remains the same 17. The meet, supposed to be a grand stage for athletes to excel, ended in one of the biggest farces. Not that the beginning was not farcical. During the first two days, the athletes ran without any anti-doping mechanism in place. While the restroom was strewn with syringes on the second day, it suddenly became less messy on the third when the Dope Control Officials and chaperones — one female and four male — came calling.
For this national event, the ministry had already said it would be taking a minimalistic approach. And the Athletics Federation of India said first priority will be those athletes who qualify for Worlds. So sample collection was not even acting as a deterrent here. Athletics is not a very clean sport. It’s not as tainted as weightlifting but it’s close. However, the drama turned absurd when a male official was looking for Anjali Devi who comfortably outran Saritaben Gayakwad and Jisna Mathew for the 400m gold in just 51.53s (qualification mark for worlds, 51.80) in such adverse conditions. Ostensibly so, some coaches of other athletes started asking why she was not taken directly from the track to the collection centre. Rules mandate that after an athlete completes the race, the person should be under watch until she gives the samples.
Here, Anjali not only stepped out of the track, but also went to the restroom, otherwise forbidden, and then turned up for the victory ceremony. The Athletics Federation of India showed little concern either. The ending was perhaps poetic justice to the entire absurdity of the meet. Muhammed Anas, running for AFI’s A team, took the baton from a member of the C team during the 4x400m men’s relay. This led to none of the AFI teams — A, B and C — not posting times. In the end, the 4x400m men’s team remained at No 16 in the world and on course for the Worlds.
What is troubling is the performance. Anjali has run faster than any of the 400m athletes training abroad, including Hima Das, in the last six months. Ahead of the Worlds, instead of improving their performances, abroad or otherwise, most of the athletes are off mark. Anas (who broke his national record abroad), Avinash Sable (meet record), Anjali (season’s best, personal best) and PU Chitra (PB in 800m but disastrous in 1500m) may be exceptions. Long jump and javelin, the next big things in Indian athletics flattered to deceive. Over to the Indian GP 6 in Patiala.