The fastest Indian sprinter does not talk big, he simply performs

But now, he has discovered the joy of running fast and chipping microseconds from his own mark. With Anil around, gone are the days when Indian National champions were crowned in times which were not too far from women’s best at the World level. With a current best of 10.21 in 100m and 20.73 in 200m, Anil Kumar could well be India’s answer to sprinting hopes, which took a dive after Ramaswamy Gnanasekharan retired after two Asian Games in 1978.

Seven years ago, when Col. Chondanda Appanna Aiyappa of Madras Engineering Group and Centre recruited Anil Kumar Prakash, he could have been forgiven for thinking it was just another sports quota enrollment. Six years later, after many a posting, when the sports-loving Colonel returned to the Centre in Bangalore, the `sepoy’ had become a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO). The elevation was influenced by his scorching performances on the track. Little wonder, the man who had recruited him left with a sense of pride.

The fire in Anil’s belly was first evident during an otherwise routine AAFI Circuit Meet in the Garden City in July 1999, when the ebony-complexioned athlete ran the 200 metres in 21.6 seconds. People began dreaming of someone coming close to Milkha’s amazing 20.6 seconds set in 1960, long before Anil was even born.

It was obvious there was a new star on the horizon — it was underlined this season, as Anil stopped the clock at 20.73 seconds when he won the 200 metres in the third circuit meet of this season in Bangalore.

In between, the 25-year-old won the SAF Games gold medal in Kathmandu, which he considers “my best achievement”. Anil added the 100 metres National record to his name in a timing of 10.33 seconds. Even that mark went into oblivion at this year’s second circuit meet, when he reached the milestone of becoming the first Indian athlete to run the 100 metres in less than 10.3 seconds, in a time of 10.21 seconds.

Records may not have been ratified, but Anil knows he can do it. “Watch out. I will run the 100m in 10.2,” Anil said on July 5 before the race. He finished in 10.21. “Sub-21 seconds in the next meet,” was his agenda for the 200 metres. A superb 20.74 second was the result. “Didn’t I tell you?” he beamed after the two records.

Circa 1998 could well be termed as the crucial year in Anil’s career. He injured his back in the National camp, thereby ruling himself out of the National team for the Bangkok Asian Games. But the injury steeled his resolve. Grit and determination brought him back into reckoning. He fought the physical and mental wounds with a 10.58 seconds in the 100 metres. And, a 21.35 secs in 200 metres at the Fifth National Games in Manipur meant that the Harippad tiger was back. Only this time it was wounded and roaring.

For someone who, like many of his predecessors in the galaxy of Indian stars, started from an underprivileged background, the injuries and incriminations only increased his appetite for speed. Varying track conditions, some of them like in Nagercoil — venue of this season’s first meet was nothing more than a muddy, mundane version of the `runnable’ conditions — kept testing his resolve.

But his shrewd coach, Balakrishnan, advised him against going all out in the `wrong’ circumstances.

Anil does not talk big. But he has his goals: To keep improving upon his National mark. He does not go around saying, “I want to win an Olympic medal.” But each time he runs, he wants to do better than the last time.

The World might drool and swoon over the Maurice Greenes and Marion Jones, but for us, Anil Kumar Prakash is the standard-bearer of the Olympic motto — Citius, Altius, Fortius.