CHENNAI: For a time in the not so distant past, a ‘short’ — she describes herself this way — then 75-year-old Russian-American woman was the centre of Indian athletics. Galina Bukharina’s wards were setting personal bests every other month. National records were broken multiple times and a few Asian medals were won.
The 400m coach, who tasted Olympic glory as athlete and coach, was enjoying a profile that was usually reserved for athletes. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI), too, liked what they saw. They were quietly confident in the fortunes of the mixed 4x400m team at the 2019 Worlds in Doha. That, however, proved a step too far as they finished seventh in the final. In an interview on the sidelines of the 61st national inter-state athletics championships in Chennai, the 77-year-old talks about her experiences in India, the Neeraj Chopra effect and more.
On your experiences in India so far
Very happy here. I like the group, very disciplined, very obeying. But sometimes they are not focussed. You know Indian kids (laughs). You have to teach them, push them. But we are doing good. In 400m, some nations are designed to excel, some are not. We are not African sprinters but there are athletes here, you just have to find them. Take for example, S Dhanalakshmi. She ran 23.2 with a minus 4.3 headwind in an event last week (in Turkey). There is a lot of talent. I want you to understand something... it takes a lot of time to develop, it may take more than 2-3-4 years. Last year, we set an Asian record at the Olympics (in the men’s 4x400). That’s very serious.
On the current batch of 400m runners at the camp
We have the strongest group, 8-9 athletes at the same level. They know they have to compete against each other while they practice with each other every day. They understand that only the first six athletes make the team (for the relay). No compromises. In practice sessions, they have to show their ability as a team player. We will also have lots of tests to pick the best six. Then we will decide who will lead off, who can run the 2nd 400, who can anchor and so on. This year I want Arokia (Rajiv) to be the 2nd runner.