BHUBANESWAR: There is quite a sprinkling of stars from India and abroad to compete at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet here on Saturday. As the evening breeze swept across the Kalinga Sports Complex practice arena, athletes warmed themselves up before the big event.
In one corner, India’s top long jumper with Asian and Commonwealth Games medals M Sreeshankar was stretching and sprinting. On the track Vishal TK and his 400m teammates were huffing and puffing as their coach and taskmaster Jason Dawson put them through their training rituals.
Though the $75000 international event will be held just a day before the Olympic qualification cycle begins, Athletics Federation of India officials feel that it would be good for athletes ahead of the Asian Games. Though some of the qualified athletes have decided to give the WA continental event a miss, most would hope to put their best feet forward.
Sreeshankar and the rest of the Indian contingent that went to Spala, Poland before Commonwealth Games in Glasgow followed by Czechia are back and have been training in Bhubaneswar. All of them are focused on the Asian Games right now and this is just a small stopover.
“We had a very good training in Czechia and now we are concentrating on the Asian Games,” said Sreeshankar. “The injury is now passé and it doesn’t even come while I am on my run-up anymore. I think my best jump after injury is yet to come.”
Sreeshankar has had his tough days but with his father and coach S Murali by his side, they are counting on a strong end-of-the-season show in Nagoya later next month. They would be going to Japan early to acclimatize as well. If they are competing tomorrow, Vishal is giving the Continental event a miss. “I will do whatever my coach says and right now we are concentrating on the Asian Games,” he said after a rigorous training session with Dawson.
If they know what they are doing, there are quite a few athletes who were not sure why they were summoned or asked to compete. Some of the long distance runners are case in point who would not be running in their pet event but another event. Yet with the weather conditions in Nagoya likely to be more or less like Bhubaneswar, athletes would be partially acclimatized before travelling to Japan. But before that the Continental Silver meet on Saturday and another — the invitational Indian Athletics Final meet — in Delhi next month.