THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nikhil Chittarasu has always wanted to increase the cross bar of expectations. The trust the high jump enthusiasts have placed on the 21-year old athlete, has only prompted him to sail over heights that just a few have surpassed.
“This expectation will bring the best out of him and he will excel his opponents to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics,” observes Nallusamy Annavi, former national record holder and SAI coach who has been guiding Nikhil over the last couple of years. The Kerala-born Tamil Nadu high jumper who owns the junior national record for his 2.17m jump at the national inter-zonal championship in Chandigarh, is among the London Olympics probables undergoing training in the national camp at the LNCPE in Thiruvananthapuram.
Training under the probing eyes of Annavi and Ukranian expert Nikitin Evgen, Nikhil has enhanced his performance by many strides. So much so that during the off-season, he cleared a height of 2.15m during the High Jump Carnival organised by Olympian Bobby Aloysius, in the first week of December.
“Though the competition came in the preparatory off season, I cleared that height quite easily. Everyone, including my coaches and Bobby Aloysius were impressed with the performance. They think I can clear the Olympic qualifying mark during the coming Asian Indoor Athletics Championship to be held in China in February,” the enthusiastic youth said.
The ‘B’ standard qualifying mark for the London Olympics is set at 2.28m which is 11 cm more than Nikhil’s personal best that came in 2009. Besides, he faces stiff competition from the current national champion and record holder Harishankar Roy of West Bengal who had created his personal best of 2.25m in the Asian All Stars meet held in Singapore in 2004. Roy has been bending his back in Kolkata to shatter his own record and qualify for the Olympics. Nikhil is eager to take on Roy in the trials for the Asian Indoor C’ship, which he acknowledges as the best chance to go all out against the current champ. “The training here has helped me a lot. The trainers had analysed my shortcomings in the run-up, take-off and flight. The run-up has been rigid and the take-off delayed by a couple of seconds. Hope everything will be in place before the Asian Indoors,” he said. In preparation to the Asian Indoor Championship, Nikhil has already altered his training module.
“Being an indoor championship, we are training him to go for take-offs using a short run-up. Indoor stadiums have shorter tracks when compared to the outdoor stadiums. Currently, the practice revolves much around strengthening the mid-torso area, which is vital for a high jumper, and clearance perfection. The double-leg jump has been effectively used to minimize his propensity of ‘flirting with the bars,’ Annavi said.
Former ace high jumper Bobby Aloysius too seems optimistic about Nikhil’s prospects of earning an Olympic berth. “He has a sound technique and a superb style. He just needs to be concerned about his attitude and should remain focused on the sport. I think he will earn an Olympic ticket,” she opined.