Maheswary books ticket to London

Before his fourth attempt in the triple jump,Renjith Maheswary walked up to jumps coach Shvilli Evegene with the hope of receiving some words of wisdom and encouragement.

Before his fourth attempt in the triple jump,Renjith Maheswary walked up to jumps coach Shvilli Evegene with the hope of receiving some words of wisdom and encouragement. Maheswary,a bronze medal winner at the Commonwealth Games,has been in the midst of a torrid run since he broke the national record at the Delhi event with 17.07 metres. A knee injury had only further hampered his form over the past 18 months and time was running out for qualifying for the London Games. He had tried everything,including altering his technique,but nothing seemed to have helped.

On Saturday,Maheswarys first attempt attempt at the Federation Cup Senior Nationals at the NIS,Patialia,was measured at 16.51m and the second at 16.56m. These distances were well short of the 16.70m that Maheswary touched at the second-leg of the Indian Grand Prix earlier this month. He had jumped 16.38m in the first leg of the Indian GP.

The Olympic B Standard qualifying marking was still further away at 16.85m.

Story continues below this ad

The Uzbekistan-born coach told his ward to increase his run-up by a metre in order to get assistance of any extra amount of accelaration and momentum that could be derived for the fourth attempt. The strategy worked as Maheswary soared to hit the sand pit at 16.85 to win gold and in turn gain a ticket to the London Games.

Evegene felt that my starting point had to be alerted. He has been working with me since 2005 (Evegene left before Commonwealth Games in 2010 but returned last year). He knows my technique and knows how to bring the best out of me, Maheswary said.

I was a little nervous because I badly wanted to qualify for the Olympics in this championship. Leaving it till the Asian Grand Prix,to be held in Thailand,would have put extra pressure on me. So,I am relieved now. I have been training here at the NIS Patiala for the past three months, he said.

Making the cut for the London Games is not only a dream come true for the triple jumper but also ends close to eight years of frustration.

Story continues below this ad

Ahead of his event in Beijing,Maheswary suffered a thigh injury while training at the Olympic village.

Now that I have qualified for the Olympics,I have to consult my coach to check if it makes sense to take part in the Asian Grand Prix in Thailand.

For now,Maheswary has his sights firmly set on London.