CHENNAI: Despite concerns regarding the condition of the track at the LNCPE Athletics Ground in Thiruvananthapuram, a top Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official has said that the plan to shift the national camp for quarter-milers from Patiala to Thiruvananthapuram will happen as per schedule.
“The track is being laid. But that won’t be a problem for athletes as they will be focussing more on strength and conditioning and other aspects of training away from the track. There is also the University Ground and a police ground nearby which is more than enough for training to go on,” the official told this newspaper.
The core group of 4x400m relay runners will be in the capital of Kerala from mid-November till the next Federation Cup. Chief coach Galina Bukharina will be joining the team in Patiala on Wednesday.
After the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi, athletes were given a short break before they gathered back for the respective national camps.
It was a long and tiring season filled with controversies and injuries. While it was a decent outing for India, the men’s relay team failed to win a medal at the Asian Championships.
The women’s and the mixed team though won silver in Doha in April. That was followed by long training stints in Turkey, Spala (Poland) and Czech Republic before the Worlds Championships.
However, the benefits of the foreign stints were not shown at the Worlds where both teams failed to medal. The mixed team, however, sealed their Olympic berth by qualifying for the final.
The men’s team, in particular, suffered many setbacks ahead of the Worlds after key figures like Dharun Ayyasamy and Arokia Rajiv got injured. While Dharun continued to train abroad, Arokia returned to India for treatment.
The time from now to the start of next season (Federation Cup) will be crucial for all athletes with the Olympics looming. And Dharun feels training in Thiruvananthapuram has many advantages.
“I’m feeling okay. But proper training is yet to start. The climate in Patiala is not ideal for the next few months. Thiruvananthapuram is a good place for off-season training. For example, we can do some sand-training on the beach. Even the food is better there,” Dharun said.