June 27 could well be regarded henceforth as a red letter day in Indian athletics because of the significance of the new records notched up. At the senior inter-state nationals in Bhubaneswar, Ancy Sojan achieved something no Indian long jumper could do in the last 22 years—leap beyond Anju Bobby George’s 6.83 metres recorded at the Athens Olympics. When Ancy’s fifth attempt took her to 6.88 m, even she was stunned. She had shown promise last month, when she jumped 6.75 m at the Federation Cup in Ranchi. Saturday she took a leap of faith into the history books.
It was also a stark reminder of India’s painstaking progress in track and field events. Saturday proved there is hope beyond double Olympic and world championships medallist Neeraj Chopra. If Ancy broke a longstanding women’s record, Sarvesh Kushare became the first Indian man to clear 2.30 m in high jump.
Just like a mirror with two faces, the records reflect different realities. A lengthy gap to break one record and the first success at another came after significant increases in funding and support. Stars sporadically appeared on the horizon but none stayed beyond a flicker. That’s why the consistency of recent trends gives hope. A lot of national records have been broken in the last one year or so. The 100 m record is slowly inching towards the sub-10s. Animesh Kujur and Gurindervir Singh have sparked a mini sprint revolution. Quartermiler T K Vishal has run sub-45, the first by an Indian. Dev Meena is raising the bar on pole vault. Tejaswin Shankar, on the other hand, is rewriting domestic heptathlon records. To put Ancy’s achievement in perspective, it was the seventh best jump in the world this season.
However, athletics is still mired in the doping controversy. The last time someone threatened Anju’s mark, she tested positive for a banned substance. Though the Athletics Federation of India’s decentralisation policy seems to be bearing fruit, the doping menace needs to be cured, especially before the Commonwealth and Asian Games later this year. Domination of the Asian Games should only be the first step towards Olympics and World Championships. We must celebrate the new records, but urge consistency like Neeraj’s. LA 2028 should be the ultimate focus for this generation of athletes.