Tajinderpal Singh Toor's campaign at the World Athletics Championships at Oregon in August ended with heartbreak as the shot-putter made an exit from the competition without making a single attempt due to a groin injury. It led to him missing the Birmingham Commonwealth Games that followed soon after. The season had been less than satisfactory. With the season nearing an end, he longs for the off-season break to sort out things, both personal and professional, and get ready for next year.
With the season nearing an end and the Open Nationals scheduled in Bengaluru from October 15 to 19 being the last tournament, Toor was itching for a positive return and he did exactly that at the IIT Gandhinagar athletics tracks by winning the National Games gold with a meet record. He first equalled the National Games men’s shot put record with a 20.14m effort in his fourth attempt and capped that with a 20.75m heave on the final attempt.
With his foreign coach not by his side, the 27-year-old athlete from Punjab hopes he can continue the show at the Open Nationals to end the season on a high. Given the free time at his disposal during the off-season, Toor also plans to have quality time with his wife Sandeep Kaur.
"We got married last year in October. The calendar was jam-packed so we went on a short tour of Kashmir soon after the marriage. But training and upcoming competitions were in my mind even during those four-five days. Now I can take her along with me for a longer period and enjoy the vacation as well," Toor told The New Indian Express after finishing on top of the podium. The plan is to visit a few places in Kashmir and Leh in Ladakh.
Toor admitted that the busy schedule prevented him from taking his wife for a second outing after the Kashmir trip and hopes this off-season he can make up for the lost time. "I planned to take her along for the 2022 CWG but injury meant I could not compete there. Now it's a good opportunity and I hope we will have a good time during this vacation."
Given his personal best of 21.49m, which is also Asian and national records, he was expected to finish on the podium in Birmingham but the injury meant he had to miss the event. "The bronze medal winner (Scott Lincoln from England) threw 20:57m. My personal best is almost 1m above that mark but again injuries are part and parcel of the game and you cannot predict it."
Despite not recovering fully, he was eager to compete at the Games as he feels participation is a good way to assess one's progress. "At the moment I am 70 per cent fit but I wanted to compete here as the event you take part in tells you the progress you have made especially after sustaining the injury. Besides, I could not finish in top-3 at the 2015 National Games so I wanted to win the medal here."
A lot has changed since the last edition as Toor, who hadn't competed at a single international meet then, is now an Olympian. "It's been quite a long journey and next year will again be an opportunity to add new chapters to my career. For now, I will take it a bit easy and prepare at the NIS Patiala for the Open Nationals as we will have a hectic schedule next year with Olympics qualifying events lined-up," he said.
Job switch
The shot putter is also expected to join Punjab Police soon as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). He is currently posted with the Indian Navy as the chief petty officer. "All the formalities including the medical have been done. I hope to join as a DSP with the Punjab police soon," he said.