THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lakshadweep hopped on a ship to Kerala this time with one goal in mind — to turn one of their four fourth-placed finishes from the last South Zone Junior Athletics Championship to a medal. With a majority of the 34 athletes among their ranks yet to see a synthetic track, it is an order of the tallest kind.
In the 2016 meet at Karimnagar, Mohammed Shajahan (U-20 men’s shot put), Beebi Suheyla CK (U-14 girls’ long jump, triathlon) and Mohammed Niyasudheen PPT (U-20 men’s decathlon) had secured fourth spots. Any improvement will be a positive for their coach Jawad Hassan.
Jawad who is the only athletics coach on payroll of the Lakshadweep Sports and Youth Affairs Department trains close to 100 athletes in 10 of the inhabited islands in the cluster.
“We practise near a football ground on a track which is not more than 200 metres long. Most of them receive training only for 30 days a year. We take some of them to Kerala and train at Maharaja’s College Stadium for them to have a feel of the synthetic track,” Jawad explains.
Based at Andrott, Jawad can only cover three to four islands every year and his stays are short due to limited budget.
“Apart from lack of facilities, parents are reluctant to see their kids choose a career in sports. But that mindset has been changing recently thanks to good performances at the national level.”
Jami Abdul Jaleel, a NIS-certified coach assisting Jawad, felt the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) plan to open a regional centre in the islands could be a game changer.
“This would mean more opportunities and quality coaching for the islanders to aim higher,” said Jami. For Jawad, starting an athletics meet is next on the agenda. “We have the Lakshadweep School Games which features athletics, football, volleyball, badminton and tennis-ball cricket. We are planning to start a state athletics meet to encourage young athletes,” he said.
And it is not just in athletics that the islands are trying their hand at. They played in the Santosh Trophy championships in Kozhikode earlier this year. They also participated in the U-14 nationals in Tamil Nadu and went unbeaten at the BC Roy Trophy U-19 nationals in Cuttack in 2016.
“A cricket association is in the pipeline and waiting to get BCCI affiliation. We are also planning associations for volleyball and karate,” said Nizamuddin KI, general secretary of Lakshadweep Football Association.
Lakshadweep are slowly making their presence felt in the national sporting scene and an improved performance at the zonal athletics could be a step in the right direction for athletes from these idyllic islands.
adwaidh@newindianexpress.com