CHENNAI: When the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) unveiled the qualifying standards for the Commonwealth Games earlier this year, it was met with disbelief among coaches. There were apprehensions whether these marks would be met.
At the Federation Cup in Ranchi, many of their wards breached it. With that, athletes have showed what they are capable of. James Hillier, Athletics director at Reliance Foundation, credited his wards but demanded more. “It's a testament that when there are high standards, athletes will respond and do well," he told this daily from the side's training camp in Spala in Poland a few days before the Games began. "We have to believe that those standards have been set with the view that anyone that does compete at the Commonwealth Games should be competitive, which is important. We shouldn't have the mindset of just being happy to be at the Commonwealth Games. Rather, we should be sending them for them to try and win medals."
A 32-member contingent including Neeraj Chopra, Tejaswin Shankar and Parul Chaudhary will hope to increase India's medal count in athletics. At the 2022 edition in Birmingham, the 37-member contingent won eight medals (one gold, four silver and three bronze).
Hillier, who's been part of Indian athletics since 2019, felt that the athletes are more prepared and equipped to take on world beaters than they were in 2022. “I think there was a little bit of fear of the unknown. Now, we have become a lot more professional as a nation. I think we are better organised for international competitions. The belief is better within the group. I think there's a genuine belief within Indian athletics that our athletes can be successful,” the former England high performance coach said.
That way, the expectations may not lie on the shoulders of just one. Multiple Olympic medallist, Neeraj Chopra, has returned from a back injury he suffered during the Tokyo Worlds last year, even though his best mark is below 85 metres. Rohit Yadav, meanwhile, has the world's second best distance of of 87.05m, a mark he made in June’s Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar.
With regards to preparations, Hillier explained how the athletes have tried to recover and train lightly from a tough domestic season in the first few days of the camp, to prepare for competition scenarios. “The priority has been just making sure that they're getting a good few weeks of training in, in quite a low-pressure situation for a rebuild. Now the mindset has shifted from training to preparation. So our preparation has started. Now it's about being the best you can be in the competition. The session we just had was very competition-specific,” he added.
One of the things that India always looks forward to is the 400m specialists. Historically, the nation has enjoyed success in this event. But a new generation of quarter-milers, led by Vishal TK, hope to elevate India’s stock. "We are proving that Indian athletes can compete with the best in the world, and that's incredibly motivating. Every performance is about setting a new benchmark — not just for myself, but for the next generation of athletes who dream of wearing the Indian jersey,” he said.
Ever since his association with foreign coach Jason Dawson, the Tamil Nadu runner has been lighting up the track. “The biggest focus has been consistency — physically, mentally and technically. Every training session has been about learning how to get stronger, faster and more prepared for the biggest stages,” he said.
While the first-timers will be more than excited to rub shoulders with world-class athletes, those experienced will make sure to put on an improved show from their previous outing. Murali Sreeshankar, one of six athletes from the 2022 squad to take part in this edition. explained that the level in CWG is a tad higher than at the Asian Games.
“The CWG is much more at a higher standard compared to Asian Games," the long-jumper, who won silver at Birmingham in 2022, said. "In most of the events, I would say, but barring a few events, like men’s long jump. But in the majority of the events, we can say that the Commonwealth Games are a tad above the Asian Games when it comes to competition. The competition will be really good and really hard. We have the Jamaicans, the British guys, the Australians, guys from New Zealand, the African nations, they're all pretty strong,” he said in a virtual interaction from Poland.
But he believes that the Indian contingent have got what it takes to match them. “We have a lot of national records being broken, a lot of personal milestones. And the quality of performance is comparable to what we have in the global standard, especially in field events like the men's long jump, men's triple jump, women's long jump, men's high jump and the javelin throw,” he said.
That's why he thinks that this event will set the tone for the Olympic cycle. “Once we have a solid performance here, that will really get the momentum going for the LA cycle as well,” he said.
Rivalries the driving force
There was a period when a few events in national competitions had only one recognised name and their medal prospects in the said event were sealed regardless. Now there are no such predictable outcomes, at least over the last 12 months. Hillier welcomed this change. “What it does is it creates that mindset that, ‘well, if you can do it, I can do it’, which is healthy. Whilst Gurindervir Singh and Animesh Kujur (both are sprint specialists) are good friends, they're out for themselves on track, as they should be.
"What has happened in the past is that good quality athletes don't necessarily have good competition. So, national championships become quite easy to win. You don't have to push yourself. This year, athletes have had to really push themselves just to win their national championships. And that's really good. The more that athletes can be uncomfortable domestically, then they'll deal with that out on the international circuit too," he elucidated
Long jump, for example, is the perfect example as there are as many four athletes jumping well over 8m. “You can see guys jumping above 8 meters in state level competitions," Sreeshankar said. "I went into inter-state (meet in Bhubaneswar) as the fourth leading jumper in the Indian top list. So the Indian long jump standard has gone up pretty high from how it was in the Olympic year and probably last year with only like three guys over 8 metres."
“But the season has been truly incredible I would say because it is an Asian Games season and everybody has to be at their very best and it's actually incredible,” he said.
Along with him, Lokesh Sathyanathan (8.21m) will represent India at Glasgow.
David P (8.22m) and Shahnavaz Khan (8.30m) are the two other athletes who have put up strong performances. Both David and Shahnavaz recorded these performances at the Inter-State meet, which was after the CWG squad was announced.
“I can't be in an iffy shape and just go there and jump an 8.10m or an 8.15m. I would end up getting beaten. That's how you raise the standard of an event in a country. Hopefully we'll be able to replicate the same intensity and performance that we had at the domestic level, at the international levels too. And that will really be the key for us to bag the global medals,” he concluded.
Set for big test
Indian track & field athletes have shone in recent times and enter the CWG with high hopes. A look at a few athletes who could take the Games by storm...
Tejas Shirse (men's 110m hurdles)
Just a month back, Shirse broke the national record (13.27s) to qualify for this event. The Maharashtra athlete will be looking to replicate that run in this event.
Gulveer Singh (men's 5000/10,000m)
For the last couple of years, distance runner Gulveer Singh has re-written records on foreign soil on several occasion. With conditions likely to be favourable for the runners, expect the Indian to chase yet another solid run.
Parul Chaudhary (women's 5000m/ 3000m steeplechase)
Parul Chaudhary is another athlete who has had a great run this season, including a national record effort in the women's 5000m. In the international circuit, she has racked up consistent results and she'll be hoping for a good outing.
Vishal TK (men's 400m)
India's first sub-45 second runner Vishal TK will be eager leave a strong impression. With sub-44 second runners in the line-up, the 22-year-old will have to be at his very best.
Sarvesh Kushare (men's high jump)
Ever since his top-six finish in the Tokyo World Athletics meet, high jumper Sarvesh Kushare has been on a roll. After breaching the 2.30m mark, Kushare rounded off his Diamond League debut with a 2.26m leap, and is expected to continue his good run in Glasgow
