Training in tune, Arpinder Singh keen to get back to full flow
CHENNAI: Since announcing himself on the big stage, Arpinder Singh’s career graph has been anything but steady. One day, he breaks a record by becoming the first Indian to win a medal at the IAAF Continental Cup. A few months later, he finishes fourth at the Federation Cup with a jump of 16.34 and fails to make Asian Championships cut. Just like his performances, his training regimes have barely been consistent.
Before the Olympics in Rio, the triple jumper moved to London for his first foreign training stint. But that proved to be a disaster. While he made up for that by winning the Asian Games last year, Arpinder decided to follow that with a trip to the US to better his technique. The 26-year-old started training with Jeremy Fischer in Chula Vista until the Federation Cup in March. But this time, unlike London, he was not able to complete the stint because of the Federation Cup. And after the meet, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) never cleared his documents to go back.
The jumper, instead of wasting more time, started training at the Inspire Institute of Sports under Antony Yaich. But despite all these alterations, Arpinder is struggling to touch the 17m mark. Ahead of the Inter-State meet that will begin on Tuesday in Lucknow, Arpinder has decided to stick with one coach and one location for a while in what could be a crucial few months. “There is no point if we break a stint. Once we start training at a place, we get adjusted to that routine. Even a small break, such as the one I had when I came down for Federation Cup, could spoil the flow. Right now, I don’t think I am thinking about going abroad. I am going to stick with Yaich,” he said.
While he believes that some of the facilities abroad are better than what is available in the country, he sounded sceptical about the planning done for athletes in the country. Now, Arpinder is hoping to get back to his best at the Inter-State meet and the India Grand Prix VI. “I am not sure whether or not I will make Worlds cut. But I know that I will get there slowly,” he added.
The duo have been working on plenty of aspects. Apart from slight tweaks in technique, speed and run-up distance are two areas they are working on. “He tells me that I should start my run-up faster. The more explosive I am, the easier it will be to hit the 17m mark,” he said.All said and done, none of this will matter if the jumper cannot get the results. While age is not a huge factor for triple jumpers, changing training routines and techniques frequently could affect their performance. Arpinder has realised that.