Ashwini skips hurdles,for now

Back after injury layoff,the Asian Games gold-medallist says she will focus on 400m at Inter-State meet.

After spending a good part of the past two months at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala,where she has been doing light training,AC Ashwini,the Asian Games double gold-medallist,is looking forward to running at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. Ashwini will be making a return to competition at the National Inter-State meet starting on Saturday after fully recovering from a broken right wrist that has seen her struggle to train as the plaster hampered her movements.

Ashwini sustained the injury in January after she tripped on a hurdle while training in Bangalore. She had to watch the action from the sidelines at the two legs of the Indian Grand Prix held in Patiala in May. Last week Ashwini was able to remove the crepe bandage,which according to her was a big relief. However,she wont be participating in the 400 metres hurdles,one of the two events in which she won gold at the Asian Games in Guangzhou,rather she will enter the 400 metres,her favourite discipline. Ashwini shifted from the 400 metres to the 400 metres hurdles only six months before the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

I am returning to competition after the Asian Games so I wont be participating in the hurdles immediately. I havent been able to train properly since January and though I have been running since March,I could not do upper-body training so I dont want to rush into competition. The 400 metres is my pet event so in a way it is the perfect way to make a comeback, Ashwini told The Indian Express ahead of the Inter-State meet.

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Ashwini has already qualified for the World Athletics Championships to be held Daegu,South Korea,in August-September. But her aim will now be to hit the straps quickly and qualify for the London Olympics. Athletes have to meet Olympic qualifying standards in approved meetings held between May 1,2010 and July 2,2012.

The challenge is to qualify for the Olympics,which I am confident of achieving. However it is also important that I am able to achieve peak performance and maintain it right till the Olympics. I am aware that after my gold medals at the Asian Games there are great expectations from me and the 4×400 metre relay team,so I will have to work doubly hard to ensure that I do well at the Olympics,which will be the toughest stage, Ashwini said.

Lost time

The athlete rued the lost time because of the injury. It was a difficult period as I wanted to train but at the same time I was unable to because of the plaster on my arm. I am really glad that I am back on the track now. I am not in the best of form but I am confident of doing my best when it matters in the months to come, she said.

Ashwini hoped that the Inter-state meet would provide her with a base which she could use to judge her form. I am concentrating on the 400 and the 400 hurdles in the run-up to the Olympics. There is a lot of hard work ahead. In Bangalore I hope to get a good time in the 400 metres.