Something to jump about

The day was supposed to belong to Anju Bobby George. Instead, Manjeet Kaur and Pinki Pramanik creamed off early attention.

The day was supposed to belong to Anju Bobby George. Instead, Manjeet Kaur and Pinki Pramanik creamed off early attention. Even as the wait was for the long jump gold, Kaur and Pramanik ran an electric race to slice off a silver in the women8217;s 400m final of the 15 th Asian Games. The bronze was waiting for Pramanik, but she hesitated and failed to surge at the very last moment, letting go the prize.

Anju, on the other hand, tried her best, and with a do-or-die last jump, managed silver at 6.52m. The gold went to Kumiko Ikeda of Japan, who managed a brilliant 6.81m on her fifth attempt. One may recall, that Anju8217;s personal best stands at 6.83m.

It wasn8217;t the fastest of races, gold winner Olga Treshkova, was shooting ahead and suddenly, after the first end, the two Indians were hot on the chase. Rounding the second bend they were well into the sprint when Manjeet pulled closer to Olga. Pinky was pacing her well, but failed to notice Japan8217;s Asami Tanno catch up. The one-two was a foregone conclusion 20m from the tape, but with Pinky8217;s late hesitation the bronze slipped out.

Olga finished for gold at 51.86 seconds, while Manjeet came in for silver at 52.17. That last surge allowed Asami take bronze at 53.04, ahead of Pinky 53.06. Manjeet, who had showed tremendous grit in the Indian women8217;s 1600m relay final entry at the Athens Olympic Games, said she was good for gold 8220;but knee and thigh injury problems have been troubling me for long.8221; Yet, she said she was happy with what she did under the circumstances.

Pinky was, understandably, disconsolate. 8220;I could have won today,8221; she said. 8220;After some recent competitions in China I was unable to train, or I would have won. Yes, that last moment surge by the Japanese girl did do me in. I failed to notice, maybe I was a bit rusty.8221;

For Tanno it was simply a case of having to win a medal. 8220;There were three people in front of me, and I just had to win,8221; she said. That determined burst did the trick.

Such, too was the urge that Anju showed today. She may have finished with silver, a rare event for one who has for long hogged the top spot in Asia, but she has finally reversed a rather disturbing trend in her jumps 8212; she has actually climbed the ladder with the jumps and not declined from the first.

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That would have been a disaster, actually, because her first jump was an unimpressive 6.36m. Ikeda, taking of from her 6.38 first try, soared to 6.68in the second and 6.58 in the third. By then Olga Rypakova 8212; who has also won the heptathlon 8212; was at 6.4 and 6.49. When Anju had 6.47 on her fifth, one expected no more than bronze. By then Ikeda had put all controversy to rest with a 6.81m fifth try. She was getting the gold, and there was no doubt about that. And Anju was planning her sixth. A short prayer and a smooth run-up, she flew. As she landed she looked to the distance posts and was disappointed. She knew it wasn8217;t gold material. But she had made the silver cut.

Later, she said: 8220;I was not too happy with the run-ups I was managing and this I have to work upon. Of course, the silver is definitely a better deal than a bronze, but my not having participated in enough international events this year showed. I must work on my deficits now and gear up for the Beijing Olympics. I have not planned for it, but I will have to get a schedule done.8221; She will also take part in the triple jump here.

Meanwhile, India8217;s Hamza Chatholi, a surprise finalist to the 1500m, finished in seventh spot, with a personal best time of 3: 43.69. the event was won by Qatar8217;s Daham Najm Bashair 3:38.06. Chitra Kulathummuriyil made it to the semif-finals of the women8217;s 200m.