NEW DELHI: In the confirmatory trials in 400m for the world athletics championships held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, Anjali Devi (52.30) and Jisna Mathew (53.05) clocked faster timings than the Indians recorded at a meet in the Czech Republic on September 19. On Thursday, quarter milers, who are also in 4x400m relay team for worlds and are training abroad for the last six months performed worse than Jisna and Anjali. MR Poovamma clocked 54.49, Subha Venkatesan 55.29 and Vithya R 56.04.
In less than ideal conditions in the national capital which received a fair bit of rainfall, Anjali and Jisna perfromed quite creditably. The third runner, Revathi, another member of the 4x400m list, clocked a disappointing 57.59. She ran, but she was not well and even threw up prior to the race. The AFI confirmed that Anjali will board the flight to Doha.
One of the coaches present at the venue aptly summed up the situation. “What is the point of training and participating in Europe if runners here are performing better. The weather is more conducive here as the athletes can get an idea of the conditions they will face in Doha. Is the money being spent the right way?”
Anjali was pleased with the way she ran but also admitted that if not for the conditions, she would have done better. “I’m happy with the way I ran. It was difficult to run today but this gives me confidence that I can do well at the Worlds.”
The legendary PT Usha, coach of Jisna, echoed the same. “Her fitness is top notch as you can see from the way she ran. In a field of three, it is difficult to exert oneself and push harder. I’m sure she will improve.” Jisna is expected to be run in relay.
In the men’s 400m trials, Alex Antony clocked 46.58, while Harsh Kumar ran the distance in 46.76. Alex, who had suffered a hamstring injury during the Lucknow inter-State athletics, made a comeback. A source in the AFI said they were pleased with the timings recorded by both men. “Harsh has been really consistent which is good to see. Considering Alex is returning from injury, this was a good time. We are confident of a good show in Doha.”
Regarding the women’s event, the source said, “The AFI has a strict policy regarding non-campers not being selected for relay events. Last year, Noah Nirmal Tom was fourth in the inter-state held at Guwahati with a timing is 46.39, but was not considered as he was not in the camp. So Anjali may not be considered for the relay. We were, however, impressed with Jisna’s timings.”Officials from NADA was present at the venue and according to AFI, they tested all five athletes.