Big easy

The next day he hurled the iron ball 19.99m to clinch gold.

A hopeful for a medal in the Commonwealth Games,Om Prakash Singh grew up in modest circumstances in Sohna,Haryana,as the son of an Army subedar. OP,as friends call him,was cajoled by his father to play sports despite his own inclination towards becoming an engineer. Try as he might to study,he recalls people would take one look at his size and assume that he was only good for wrestling or fighting. Initially,it would upset me that people thought I was poor in academics. As I look back now,I accept that I would never have been as good working in an office as I am at shot put, he says.

Standing at 67 and weighing 135 kgs,OP is one of Indias largest athletes looks cut out for his sport. The iron ball resembles a spoongy tennis equivalent in his hand. But shot put wasnt his passion growing up. It was basketball.

My job was to throw the basketball from one end to the other. Sometimes it backfired because I would throw the ball out of the playing area. For the most part though,OP was accurate as he ended up representing his school at various tournaments across the country. It was while traipsing the sidelines of one such tournament in 2004 in Vijayawada,Andhra Pradesh,that he caught the eye of Lalit Bhanot,the secretary of the Athletics Federation of India.

He asked me if I had ever competed in shot put. I lied and said that I had thrown the shot over 20 metres. I had no clue who he was or that the national record was 20.48 m. He must have known instantly that I was bluffing, chuckles OP.

In any case,Bhanot was impressed enough and to ask him to join to the Salwan Throws Academy in Delhi. Interested in completing his studies at that point and still not knowing who Bhanot was,OP put the offer on the backburner. He enrolled at the Malwa College in Bhatinda where he continued with basketball. But doubts soon began to creep in. Basketball is a team game. Even if you are good,you need your team mates to perform as well. For the effort I was putting in,I felt that I might as well take part in an individual sport.

It was then that OP remembered Bhanots offer and decided to go to Delhi in 2005. It was more than just coincidence that Bhanots path crossed mine in Vijaywada, feels OP.

Once he was admitted into the academy,OP began training under the tutelage of Arnold Stasi,a coach from Belarus. Weighing 90 kgs from his hoopster days OP bulked up to 130 in order to endure the stresses of shot put.

But indiscipline saw him thrown out before he could settle in. I used to believe that no one could throw me out,after all I had talent. But then I understood nobody cared if I did nothing with it. I vowed that I would prove them wrong, OP says.

After the warning call,things improved quite rapidly. In less than a year,he was throwing at the national camp in Patiala.

His brow furrows deeply as he says,I have never focused so much on anything as I have focused on shot put. Even when I sleep,I dream of my throws.

Throwing the 7.2 kg shot over 20 metres takes more than just brute strength,as OP realised. With no technique,even if I was to throw with all my strength,I wouldnt cross 18m. The world record is 23m. Baki distance technique aur dimag se hi aati hai, he says. While his innate nature is gregarious and outgoing he recounts seemingly endless stories of his escapades as a school and college boy all that has been sublimated over the last few years into his training,: six hours a day,six days a week.

I prefer to train alone. Training always brings out a lot of aggression. I plug in some Sufi music to enter the zone.

After the agression,the day end rather quietly,within the chapters of a good book. His favorite subject is history and his hostel room is strewn with books on the subject. I like reading about kings and rulers and battles and politics. Other athletes like to go out after training,I prefer reading.

Is he ever angry with the facilities he is provided? Refreshingly,no. I have had no problems being an athlete, he says,adding that when he worked hard he got positive results. I dont have any sad stories to share. If Im not getting some facility,nor are the other athletes,but it doesnt stop them from winning medals,does it?

Considering my family background,I think I have achieved a lot. I have won medals internationally,including a gold at the Asian level. I have got a job as a Class 1 employee with ONGC,and Im backed well by the sponsors, OP adds. Satisfied,he maybe,but OP still craves for athletics holy grail. Olympic medal. Any less and I would consider that my destiny was left half finished.

Salwan School academy

Even if I wanted to learn shot put,I had no clue where to pick it up professionally. There is no shortage of talent in India,just lack of opportunity, says Asian champion,OP Singh.

If India is to find talent in shot put,discus or javelin throw,it will have to look for it at the grass root level. Identification itself isnt enough,there is also a dire need for proper coaching facilities at that level. Set up in 2004 at Delhi8217;s Salwan Public School,the Athletics Federation of India AFI academy aimed to do just that.

Although several recognised names- national record holders Seema Antil Discus and Shakti Singh shot put came to learn under Belorussian coach Arnold Stasi at the academy,many more were beginners including OP. Around 25-30 of them can be seen at the academy in the wee hours of the morning,after which they leave to attend classes. It isnt just the national and international players who train at our campus,we get a lot of school and college students, says Sanjay Chauhan,the manager of the academy. One such student is Palakh,a 11th grade student of Salwan Public school and a silver medalist in the women8217;s shot put event at the junior nationals. She says,echoing OP8217;s views: I8217;m lucky we had the facility at our school itself,otherwise I would never have made an attempt at shot put. Like Palakh,the next generation is all set to be groomed in Salwan8217;s pipeline.