Breaking ground

Why didn8217;t Manjit8217;s brilliant efforts made news back home. Reason: Indian athletics think tank hasn8217;t been able to market the sport as it should have been. But a new breed of Indian athletes has overcome the weak support system and worked their way to the top. There are not many incentives or offers of endorsement in store for them, but they just make it big.

In 2003, when Anju Bobby George pocketed the bronze medal in the World Athletics Meet, her feat gave a new lease of life to athletics in the country that hadn8217;t produced good athletes since the likes of PT Usha and Milkha Singh. Many budding athletes now wants to emulate Anju. Many dream to go a few steps more.

There is no mantra for instant success. Even a country like USA that has got pedigree of sprinters in their fold, has struggled to make a mark in the distance running since the 808217;s. Alberto Salazar, who supervises Nike distance running programme in the USA, got a jolt when some of the junior athletes left his training camp as he was too harsh.

But the former marathon runner didn8217;t lose hope. One of his teenage prodigy 8212; Galen Rupp 8212; has shown a lot of promise. Despite finishing behind 19 African runners in the junior 8km world cross-country meet this year, the coach and the trainees have set their eyes on the 2008 Beijing Olympic. Galen recent time of 28:15.51 for the 10,000m _ new USA junior record 8212; indicates that he is gradually cutting the gap between him and the other Africans runners, who usually dominates the world distance running.

Indian athletics think tank could also have some plan like that for the 2008 Olympics. The national relay squad 4x400m comprising of Manjit, Rajwinder, Chitra and S Geetha, is relatively young. All four are talented too. A good support system may enable them and others in the wings to pursue their big dreams.

Seven games, two champs and a coach

One a tomboy, another a bright student. Jaydip Sengupta tells how two very different Bengal girls make it big together

THE Sports Authority of India SAI, Eastern Centre, has been the breeding ground for several national level athletes, but ask Sushmita Singha Roy and she would tell you that the place is a breeding ground for a lot more.

The heptathlon silver medallist at the recently-concluded Asian Championships at Inchon, South Korea, still remembers her two-year stint with ghosts. Back in 1999, when she was recruited by the SAI and allotted a ground floor room, Sushmita, all of 14 then, fled the place in terror after four days 8212; she had seen ghosts roaming the complex. After several calls, her coach Kuntal Roy traced her to home in Midnapore. It took two years to persuade her to return.

In contrast, the tomboy that Soma Biswas was, she would probably have loved to meet the creatures of the dark. The youngest in a family of seven children, the daughter of a fairly well-to-do farmer, loved to swim in the neighbourhood pond late into the night. Ghosts were the last things on her mind. Soma spent her childhood helping her father in the paddy fields and taking the cattle out to graze. She played football with the boys, was almost a Mrinmoyee, played by Aparna Sen in Satyajit Ray8217;s three-part masterpiece Teen Kanya Three Daughters.

But, like Sushmita, the Asian heptathlon champion8217;s first brush with SAI was not very pleasant either. Spotted by Subhraja, wife of her coach Kuntal, while participating in a district-level meet, Soma was recruited as a trainee in Calcutta Port Trust for a stipend of Rs 700 per month.

Kuntal was away on a five-year coaching course in Germany at the time and his first introduction to the promising high-jumper came in 1993 on his return. His education in Germany taught him that it was best to test out youngsters in as many events as possible, just to get them to be better all-round athletes.

He joined SAI as the athletics coach and decided to take Soma with him. But, he wasn8217;t prepared for the shock that awaited him. 8216;8216;I took her to SAI in 1995 to train under me, but she was rejected by the powers-that-be for being 8216;flat-footed8217;. It was a terrible blow, because I had so much hope pinned on her,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;I approached the regional director for help and convinced him to make her case a special one. I guaranteed her success since I was the coach and they finally decided to take her in.8217;8217;

The high jumper made the national camp in that event, but Kuntal soon found out that Soma wasn8217;t meant for a specialised event. 8216;8216;I realised that she would not make it past a certain level in high jump. Then I put my training in Germany to good use and decided to test her out in heptathlon which only required her to be good to a certain level. She could take immense load and her commitment never wavered, just the right qualities for the multi-discipline event.8217;8217;

Kuntal experimented the same with Sushmita, who like Soma, started off as a high jumper. 8216;8216;After she left SAI the first time, I told her father, a senior constable with the West Bengal Police, to ensure that she completed her secondary education before she returned. She was a good student, having got first division marks. She returned, a lot more mature and more serious about her career in sports,8217;8217; says the coach.

Sushmita got an early break in her career when she was picked for the junior team for the world championships in Moscow in 2000-2001, where she won bronze in high jump, her last go at the specialised event. Kuntal made her switch to heptathlon and just like Soma, who was down with malaria in 1997, Sushmita too struggled the first couple of years.

8216;8216;Unlike Soma, who was a hardened pro by the time she started taking part in international meets, Sushmita was a very soft person. She had been pampered, expected, given that theirs is a family of two siblings,8217;8217; he recalls.

Kuntal had to make a choice. He realised that being with Soma when she went to take part in the national camps hurt Sushmita8217;s performance. He decided to become their personal coach, so that he could give time to both. The rest as they say8230;Soma went on to win the silver at the Busan Asian Games and then Inchon.

Long Haul

First girl in her villager to try sports, Krishna Poonia is Agroha8217;s proud role model today

NAVNEET SINGH
Agroha Hisar

Till a few years back, women were not supposed to play in the small village of Agroha, near Hisar. So when Krishna Poonia went to college, she was not keen on sports. But a close relative persuaded her to take part in the discus event since she was 8216;8216;taller and healthier than other girls8217;8217; in her class. 8216;8216;At first I was a bit reluctant. Then I got the disc and threw it quite a distance,8221; Poonia recalls.

She threw it quite a distance again last week to earn the silver medal in the Asian Athletics Meet held at Korea.

8216;8216;Since sports and games were alien to our village folks, we never got any opportunity to show our talent till the time we were in college,8217;8217; the international thrower recalls the beginning of a long journey. Once she became a member of the college team, she surprised one and all by her raw talent during the inter-college meet held in 1997. 8216;8216;I broke the inter-college record of 32-metre by three metres after 25 years,8217;8217; she says proudly.

In 1998, the towering six-foot village girl further got a boost when she was called for the national camp. And her marriage to former International hammer thrower Varinder Poonia, in 1999, was another turning point of her career.

8216;8216;My in-laws and my husband have been very supportive. Without their backing, I wouldn8217;t have done well at the Asian level,8217;8217; admits Krishna, who became a mother in 2000.

As four-year old Lakshay Raj plays with his mother8217;s medals, Krisha continues to dream bigger. 8216;8216;If I get better facilities, I would be able to go further and achieve more,8217;8217; she claims.

So was she hurt by the Rajasthan government8217;s indifference? 8216;8216;May be the government has more important issues to solve than welcome me,8217;8217; goes her modest reply.

But her silver medal performance was no mean achievement. 8216;8216;It8217;s nearly after two decades that someone from the state has won international medal in athletics,8217;8217; says Krishan8217;s husband Varinder Poonia, who himself had been an international hammer thrower.

It is not Krishna8217;s fault that the she has not got an e-mail id yet. But Krishna has little time for internet browsing as she follows a punishing schedule. Over seven hours of physical training, some six hours of office work and family commitments keep her on her toes.

For now, she simply wants to be focussed. 8216;8216;I want to take a short-break, then start preparing for the next Commonwealth Games. Since I have suffered from an injury, I want to go steady,8217;8217; says the thrower, who had to lay off due back injury for three long years from 2000 to 2003.

It was the support of the family and well-wishers that brought her back. In 2004 SAF Games, she bagged silver with a throw of 49.39m. Encouraged by her performance at the international debut, she pushed hard. This year, after winning three bronze medals in the Asian Grand Prix, silver in Korean Asian Meet was just the icing on the cake.

And with her making headlines, things started changing in Agroha, too. 8216;8216;Villagers want me to do better. They want more Krishnas,8217;8217; says the champion. In fact, one of the Agroha girls 8212; Geetika Jakhar 8212; who wanted to emulate Krishna, took to wrestling and had done the country proud on several occasions.

Little girl8217;s one-track mind

From the green fields of Sabran to the tracks of Inchon, it8217;s been a hell of a race for Rajwinder

DHARMENDRA RATAUL
SABRAN AMRITSAR

ALMOST hidden in the lush green paddy fields in this border village is a house that until a few years ago had no electricity or running water. But the family of nine living here had other concerns. The father, on a private job, worried about the Rs 5,000 he earned every month. Rajwinder Kaur worried about how fast they could clock 4X400 metres.

Fast enough, it turned out, to clinch the gold in the 4X400m relay at the 16th Asian Athletic Championships in the South Korean city of Inchon.

In Sabran, that achievement is magnified manifold. Beyond the fields in this village, 70 kilometres from Amritsar, 10 kilometres from the Indo-Pak border, a career in sports seems far away.

8216;8216;We never thought she would do big8230;nor did we have the resources to fund her,8217;8217; says her father Sardara Singh, his eyes darting to the door every minute. 8216;8216;She called and said she would be here within minutes.8217;8217;

And Rajwinder was not the only daughter he had to think about. Four other daughters and two sons were in school, the eldest daughter used to play basketball. 8216;8216;Rajwinder was staying away with her maternal uncle at Harike where she started participating in school athletic events and winning awards. She later studied at Mata Ganga Girl School, Tarn Taran and then Jalandhar8217;s Nehru Garden school where her talent emerged in the inter-school and inter-varsity competitions,8217;8217; says Singh.

In 2000, Rajwinder and her elder sister were recruited to the Punjab Police when ADGP Rajdeep Gill realised the girls were meant for the track. 8216;8216;With both my daughters standing on their own feet, I heaved a sigh of relief,8217;8217; says Singh. 8216;8216;And they plunged into vigorous practice sessions.8217;8217;

But the odds were there to chase. Singh watched his daughters gulp down water after practice while the others drank juice and vitamin supplements. Harpreet Kaur, however, told her daughters to stay put, their destiny would smile on them some day. 8216;8216;That has happened today,8217;8217; she says, glancing at the trophies and medals shining on the recently marbled floor.

A zipping motorbike cuts off the conversation. Rajwinder is on her brother8217;s bike again. And before she can get off, everybody else is on their feet. 8216;8216;She had come on the village bus and my son went to fetch her,8217;8217; Singh explains between hugging his daughter and making way for our photographer. Rajwinder, a little conscious, is on cue. 8216;8216;I am thankful to my parents for everything they did for me. I am thankful to my coach Ranbir Singh Sidhu and I thank every one who helped me to win the championship,8217;8217; she falls into an old wooden chair. 8216;8216;Despite the odds and poverty I used to run in my father8217;s fields when I was a child,8217;8217; she adds thoughtfully.

The village remembers the 8216;8216;little girl8217;8217;. And when she was picked for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, they turned up to congratulate her father. She remembers that day too.

She doesn8217;t talk of her Incheon tour. That is over. Now, she is worried about the pain in her ankle after a few fractures. The doctors have advised a plaster. 8216;8216;I will on rest for one month due to the injury and then start practising for Commonwealth in Melbourne in March 2006,8217;8217; she says, adding she8217;s aiming for the 2008 Olympics.

Off the track, she is head constable. A promotion, she adds reluctantly, has been long in coming. Before she can continue, the neighbours pour in.

8216;8216;This small girl has done big,8217;8217; says Gurmej Singh. 8216;8216;She emerged victorious fighting the odds. She will be a role model for the other youngsters in the area.8217;8217;

Rajwinder is listening carefully, massaging her ankle.

Future Course

Manjit8217;s checklist for the govt: Ensure proper diet, practice, healthcare for athletes

ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA
JALANDHAR

SUB-INSPECTOR Manjit Kaur has too much on her hands. There8217;s her BA exams, diet, practice, the Commonwealth Games next year, and then the Olympics8230;

8216;8216;If we stick to a proper diet and proper foreign-based practice, no one can stop Indian athletes from winning medals at the Olympics,8217;8217; says Manjit, fresh from the golds at Inchon in the 400m and 4X400m relay. 8216;8216;The best athletes of the country, not more than 20 in number, should be sent to foreign countries for regular practice with world-level athletes.8217;8217;

There are other races, she points out, athletes are always running against. 8216;8216;Everyone in India pays attention to cricket. No one pays heed to athletics and other games8230;why can8217;t our government afford even to send 20 best athletics abroad for practice?8217;8217;

When you8217;ve bettered flying queen P.T. Usha8217;s record at the Olympics8217; final trial, with no audience at all, there8217;s little that can discourage you. But Manjit is not remembering that feat of 2004.

8216;8216;When she was born, our relatives were not very happy8230;now the same relatives are congratulating us on her achievement,8217;8217; says her mother Baldev Kaur. But the fourth daughter among five and a brother, Manjit has been a fighter. And, there8217;s been good guidance, she says.

She must have been five or six when the early morning rounds with her father Harbhajan Singh, a long jumper, turned to sport. Coach Navtej Singh asked for Manjit to train for athletics.

8216;8216;Since then, I started practice and in Class IX, coach R.S. Sidhu began guiding me. There8217;s been no looking back since,8217;8217; says Manjit.

Manjit joined Punjab police as a constable and a medal at the Busan Games in 2002 saw her promoted to sub-inspector.

Now, Manjit is also gearing up to graduate, as a private candidate.

Her coach R.S. Sidhu, is looking at the big picture. 8216;8216;Manjit has a lot of potential and is among our best athletes. Both she and Rajwinder are very hardworking and sincere athletes,8217;8217; he says, with a measured note of caution.

8216;8216;Our government should take care of our athletes, their diet, practice, ensure they get good doctors so that they can recover fast from injuries.8217;8217;

Vikas, Navpreet stand out among the men

Apart from some upcoming female athletes, who recently made a mark during the continental athletics meet, certain male athletes stood out. Prominent among them are shot putter Navpreet Singh and discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Both the athletes are young and have shown promise. They were quite consistent in their performance during the 2005 season.

Though Vikas has the advantage of hi-tech facilities at the University of North Carolina, USA, where he is pursuing his studies, Navpreet has been training at NIS, Patiala.

During the Inchon Asian Athletics Meet, Navpreet may have lost gold medal to Qatar8217;s Al Suwaidi Khaled by a mere five centimeters Khaled recorded a throw of 19.45, while Navpreet best throw was 19.40, but the Indian thrower was more consistent. Out of four legal throws, Navpreet had three 19 plus throws, which augur well for the future. Hopefully, he would be amongst the Indian contingent that would be taking part in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games slated to be held in the second week of March 2006.

Vikas has come of out the shadow of his senior thrower Anil Kumar, who was not among the medallists this time, to win silver with a throw of 62 plus metres. Due to busy inter-collegiate season in the USA, Vikas may not represent India in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. But he would be a marked man during the Doha Asian Games.