"If Milkha was sincere about the award, he should pay up right now"

I am very happy, particularly as it came on Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary. I was feeling very fresh in the morning and was confident that I would do well. Of course, my primary aim was to win the race, the record came as a bonus. The day will remain memorable for me for the rest of my life. The importance of my achievementsunk in when athletic legends like Sriram Singh came to congratulate me. I realised the meaning of the feat then and I really felt proud.

But Milkha Singh believes his record is still intact.

It hardly matters what he believes. My timing has been recognised as the national record and that is enough for me. Milkha, of course, wants to hold on to his record and perhaps that is why he refuses to accept my accomplishment. He is welcome to believe whatever he feels like. As far as I am concerned, the entire nation is hailing me for breaking his record and that is what counts. It is not my fault that his hand-timed record was hiked when it was converted to electronic timing. Why should I be deprived of a legitimate record?

Why do you think Milkha Singh is reacting as he is?

He has always felt that his record cannot be broken. He has often said that no one in India is capable of bettering his timing in the 400-m run. But I have just proved him wrong and he is unable to accept that. Records aremeant to be broken and that is the yardstick to measure improvement. Today I broke his record, tomorrow someone else will have a better timing. I want to tell him that many athletes in India can clock a better timing than his and that will not be too great a feat.

Milkha had promised to give Rs 2 lakh to anyone who eclipsed his feat. Are you going to claim that honour?

Initially, he had promised Rs 2 lakh, but now he says that he will give Rs 1 lakh now and pay the rest after assessing my performance in the Asiad. I call that cheating. He should stick to his word and if he was sincere about the reward, then he should pay up right now. However, I will not go begging to him. I am from a well-to-do family myself and I don’t need his money.

Did your Asian Track and Field performance of 45.95 seconds in Fukuoka make you believe that a timing below Milkha’s record was possible?

Actually, the thought of going after the national record came to me much earlier. I had clocked 46.33 seconds in theChennai South Asian Federation meet in 1995. Many people had, at that stage, told me that I should now concentrate on bettering Milkha Singh’s record. Well, it took me three long years. But, after Fukuoka, I was really focused and psyched myself by believing that bettering the mark was the sole purpose of my life. I told myself that if I cannot break the record before the year end, then I should rethink my plans for the future. I am happy that it came here in Calcutta.

You had some injury problems before the Open Nationals. Wasn’t that troubling you?

I had injured my groin during the Raja Balendra Meet in Delhi. Owing to that, I had to skip the Mumbai Circuit Meet. But I decided to run in the police meet here in Calcutta it was too important to miss. After all, I have a duty towards my department. I was a bit apprehensive then as I wasn’t sure whether the injury had healed properly. I did not want to aggravate it by going all out as that would have hampered my chances of making it to the AsianGames squad. I started the race much slower than I normally do and the first 300 m were bad for me. As soon as I realised that the injury wasn’t troubling me, I started running freely. In fact, the last 100 m turned out to be excellent and that helped me regain my confidence.

After the record timing here and considering that the Asian Games are still some time away, do you think you have peaked a bit too early?

I am yet to peak. The record was just a psychological hurdle. Now that I have overcome that, I will definitely go for a better timing. I know this timing may not fetch me an Asian Games medal, but then I can assure you that this is not my best either. In fact, I am aiming for 45.00 seconds or a sub-45-second timing in the Asiad. Even in the inter-state meet (which starts in Calcutta from November 17), I’m hoping to improve the record.

Have you ever done sub-45 seconds in practice?

We do not run the 400 m in practice. We do 500 m or 300 m and I am satisfied with my performance overthose distances in practice. On rare occasions, we do go for the 400 m, but then we do not stress ourselves too much and prefer slower timings like 48 seconds or something.

What were the problems you faced in the record-breaking race?

It was a very smooth race and I can’t recall any problems. I was quite fast off the block and had a very good initial 250 m. I did slow down a little after that but made that up in the last 50 m. I was particularly satisfied at having negotiated the first bend well. That has always been a problem area and I have been a little worried about that. This time, however, things went smoothly.

Your rivals in that race clocked excellent timings too.

Yes, and that is what propelled me to perform. Throughout the race, I was being pushed from behind and pulled from the front. It was an ideal situation to perform well. We have some very good quarter-milers now. Lijjo David, Jata Shankar, Ramachandran all of them are capable of better timings. In fact, the four of usform the 4×400 m relay team and we stand a chance of earning an Asian Games medal in the event.

Now that the record is behind you, how are you going to prepare for the Asian Games?

I will be joining the national camp in Jamshedpur, but I am not going to stress myself there. I have to ensure that I do not get injured by trying too hard, too early. Moreover, I do not want to overdo the preparation and tire myself before the main event. But of course, the Inter-State Meet in Calcutta will be the last real test before the Asian Games and I want to perform creditably there as well. Another good timing will definitely boost my confidence.