CHENNAI: Sharda Narain was at a loss of words when she emerged the fastest woman in the GP’s third leg. For, never had she achieved a similar feat before. But Thursday was one of those days when she defied her destiny.
Andhra’s HM Jyothi, who buckled gold in the 100m (Kochi) and 200m (Coimbatore), seemed designed for gold. In Kochi, Jyothi had clocked 11.54 and someone beating her was out of question. But it’s this glorious uncertainty that makes sports such a spectacle. And fortunately for her, Jyothi was not in her grid.
“I turned around and saw that none of the big girls were in my group. Then I focused my mind and told myself that I’m going to give my best in my track in front of my home crowd. And everything went well,” she said. “Maybe, the new track has changed my luck. Frankly, the sight of the new track pumped me up and I was determined to give my best.” After a brief form-induced lay-off, silver (200m) in Coimbatore bolstered Sharda’s confidence. However, the gap between Jyothi (24.13) and Sharda (24.46) was monstrous. “But I got a lot of confidence from the performance and knew that I could do better in Chennai,” she reflected.
Having been selected for the Asian GP, Sharda is braced to better her timings.
“This was the perfect confidence booster.
But you can’t afford to relax and have to keep on improving.”