CHENNAI: Until a year ago, Bibin Mathew was grappling with self-doubt. Despite his reasonable performances, he op ted to represent Madhya Pradesh in the 48th Interstate Athletics in Madurai, a move that his home state Kerala was to repent later. Burying the understandable disappointment, he was determined to prove a point, which he eventually accomplished. He claimed silver in 400m and anchored Madhya Pradesh to gold in relay, as Kerala conceded the overall championship to Jharkhand by one gold.
The 22-year-old hasn’t looked back since. He equalled the meet record of 47.4s in the senior and junior inter-club athletic championship before bagging gold (46.81) in the 48th Open National Athletics Championship in Kochi.
A few months later, he ran his personal best of 46.47 in the second leg of the Indian Grand Prix in Coimbatore, something that surprised himself. “I hadn’t even clocked this time in my practice runs, so it was a huge surprise. It has enhanced my confidence to such a level that I’m aiming for a berth in the World Championship,” he said.
The 45.95-second finish, the criteria for World Cup qualification, would take some doing. But rest assured that Bibin would give his best shot. “It’s a tough ask but I now (after clo cking 46.47) have some hope and I would give my best. I would take this as a challenge and work hard towards it.
Achieving that in my next race (third leg of the Indian Grand Prix) would be tough, but I hope to make the cut in the Asian Grand Prix,” he said.
Eclipsing Olympian KM Binu’s national record of 45.48s, achieved in the Athens Olympics, would be an equally onerous mission. But with age in his side, Bibin can erase Binu’s record. “On the track, I’m only concerned about running as fa st as I can. But I would like to break Binu’s record and make steady progress. I have improved by timings considerably in the last two years. In 2007, my best was around 47.5s.
In 2008, I clocked 46.81 and this year I’ve managed 46.47s,” pointed out Bibin, who hails from the rugged Wayanad in north Kerala. Even his transition to the national domain was steady than spectacular.
A springy teenager, he tried his hand in every other sport before former athlete and coach Walter John realised the youngster’s potential and advised him to focus on one discipline.
The toss-up was between 800m and 400m.
“I was equally good at both so I thought over again and again and sought my coach’s advice before deciding to focus on 400m,” he recollected. Qualifying for the World Championship would be his first gentle step towards achieving his lifetime dream of an Olympic podium. But the pragmatic Bibin has his mind attuned to another gold in this Grand Prix.