Opinion Hari Chand belonged to the golden era of men’s middle- and long-distance running in the country

There were no diet charts or recovery experts, no trainers or physios, and yet the 1960s-’70s were the golden era of men’s middle and long-distance running in the country. Tarlok Singh started the medal rush in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m in the 1962 Asiad. Tarlok’s bronze and gold were bettered by Shivnath Singh’s gold and silver in 1974. Hari Chand became the greatest when he pulled off the gold double four years later in Bangkok to match Milkha Singh’s feat in the 200 m and 400 m from two decades earlier.

Chand, who died on Monday at 69, in one retelling of his medal-winning exploits, recalled how legendary coach Joginder Saini insisted on him wearing spikes on the eve of the races in Bangkok. The policeman was most comfortable running barefoot. Instead of rubbing his coach the wrong way, he slipped on the running shoes and won. At 5 feet 2 inches, Chand was dwarfed by most of his competitors. Questions about whether his short stature was a disadvantage elicited an analogy — he was the jackrabbit who outran the cheetahs. This era is also special because of records that stood the test of time. Chand’s rivalry with Shivnath Singh remains one of the fiercest in Indian track and field. Shivnath moved to the marathon, and being an all-round athlete, set the current Indian record of 2 hours and 12 minutes in 1978. Chand’s 10,000 mark took 32 years to fall.

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Sriram Singh, another great from the ’70s, had to wait for 42 years before his 800 m record was broken. Gopal Saini’s 3000 m steeplechase record set in 1981 was broken in 2018 by Avinash Sable, the most promising endurance runner in decades. Sable is from a humble background, similar to Chand’s, but has the advantage of having sponsors meet his every need, apart from exposure tours, foreign coaches and the benefits of sports science. One wonders how much faster Chand and his barefoot rivals would have run today.