CHENNAI: After triple-jumper Selva Prabhu Thirumaran landed in Cali for the junior Worlds, he was feeling tired. He immediately slept but the tiredness didn't really go away. He developed cramps, his body was feeling so 'tight' that he started having a nagging, throbbing pain. With this pain, he took to the runway for the qualifying event on August 4. The first attempt was a foul but he leapt 15.99m — what was then his personal best till that point — in his second to qualify for the final. A day later, the 17-year-old set another personal best — 16.15m — to claim a historic silver at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium in Cali.
At some level, the 24 hours in Colombia is an accurate snapshot of Selva's fledgling career. He's nothing if not a confident young man. So confident he knew he would medal as soon as he jumped to the then-best of 15.99m, leaping above the pain barrier. "As soon as I landed in Cali, my body has become tight. I had cramps and also had some pain because of that. But after that qualifying attempt, I knew I would medal in the final," he tells this daily a day after landing in Chennai.
What's noteworthy about Selva's jump is that he got into the discipline only a few years ago. Till he finished Class X, he considered himself a long-jumper. "I got into athletics in Class VI," he says. "From Class VII to XII, I stayed in a (SDAT) sports hostel in Tiruchirappalli. Around the time I finished Class X, I left long jump for high."
Since he made that transition, he has had some creditable performances at the domestic level, including a second place at the Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru in May. While triple jumpers do rely a lot on speed down the runway, Selva, who is a first year BA English student at Bishop Heber in Tiruchirappalli, relies a lot on his explosiveness. He's just started to work on the speed aspect of the discipline. "I have had that explosive ability from a small age," he says. "The speed I haven't really concentrated. Only recently, I started doing that."
For his age, 16.15m is an elite — third best in his age-group — mark but he knows he has to keep improving. To this effect, he keeps sending videos of his jumps to the likes of Praveen Chitravel and constantly asks for tips and where he can gain. "The last few strides before I take off. I have been asked to focus on that," he says.One of his big wishes is to go abroad and hone his skills even further. "I want to experience, I would like to have at least one season of training there," Selva signs off.