Manjeet Kaur, who holds the national record in the women’s 400m, is all set to head to California for advanced training ahead of the Beijing Olympics. “Since I have managed to arrange funds, I will apply for a visa shortly. I plan to stay there for eight weeks to train for both the relay and the individual 400m,” she told The Indian Express from Patiala. “I want to participate in the 400m race in Beijing. I hope working with the best trainers in the business will get me past the 51.55 seconds qualification mark during the Asian Grand Prix events in June.”The Punjab Police runner has been mainstay of the national 4x400m relay squad since 2004, but has been struggling with her form of late due to nagging back pain. “My back has troubled me a lot recently and it has hampered my progress,” she said. Over the last three years, Manjeet has failed to beat her personal best of 51.05 seconds. But she says she’s determined to make a strong comeback. “I’m capable of running a good race. This year, I’m determined to be back to my best,” she said. The quarter-miler will be fourth Indian athlete to train in the US. Triple-jumper Renjith Maheswary, women’s discus thrower Krishna Poonia and shot-putter Navpreet Singh are already training under different experts in America.
