Anju misses podium after 4 foul jumps

The foul jumps have again proved to be a demon for Anju George. In the Golden Gala Meet in Rome on Friday night, Anju began the competition with first two foul jumps and failed to settle down. She just managed 6.41m and 6.39m before making two more invalid jumps. In the process, she finished a poor fourth.

Anju has made this lapse often in the past, leaving her under tremendous pressure in the remaining competition. Barely a month to go for the Olympic Games in Athens, this should be a concern for both to Anju and her coach Bobby George. They know the problem and are looking for ways to rectify it without much success.

In fact, Anju was lucky to finish fourth tonight. Fiona May had an identical jump of 6.41m but Anju’s second best effort of 6.39 was better than Fiona’s 6.36.

Otherwise, it was Russians who finished 1-2-3. Tatyana Lebedeve won the gold with a personal best of 7.01 metres while Tatyana Kotova finished second at 6.76 with Irina Simagina at third in 6.73 .