CHENNAI: As expected, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has selected a young squad for the upcoming South Asian Games (SAG) that will begin on December 1 in Nepal. However, some of the top stars like Shivpal Singh, PU Chitra, MP Jabir and Jisna Mathew will also be taking to the track in Kathmandu.
It has been a long and tiring season for athletes in the country and the AFI wants to make sure that elite athletes are in the best of shape for the Tokyo Olympics. Injuries to stars such as Hima Das and Arokia Rajiv before the World Championships in Doha hampered India’s performance, particularly in the relays.
While the mixed team managed to qualify for the final and seal an Olympic quota, the men’s and women’s team were disappointing as they clearly missed the services of Hima and Rajiv.
That was a wake-up call and the AFI wants to make sure that none of that happens at the quadrennial extravaganza in Tokyo. “We talked to the coaches and we don’t want to risk the senior athletes with regards to the Olympic Games. After the Worlds, some of the athletes took a long break which is normal. We want to make sure that they are in the best shape at the Olympics,” AFI high-performance director Volker Herrmann said.
According to the AFI, some of the senior athletes need to improve their ranking points before the Olympics and believe that SAG will be a perfect opportunity to do so. “Shivpal, for example, did not rest after the Worlds and went for the World Military Games. So he continued with his training. Same goes with Jabir. We did not want to stop that. For someone like Jabir, this will be a good chance to add some points to his ranking,” Volker added.
As far as medals are concerned, there is not much expectation. Volker feels that there are a lot of young athletes who have little experience in competitions abroad and SAG will be a good launchpad for them. “We decided to send a very young team this time so that they get some international exposure. We are not focusing much on the medals.