The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Focus on Beijing Olympic Games, says Anju

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Thursday, Aug 30, 2007
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Sport - Athletics

Focus on Beijing Olympic Games, says Anju

K.P. Mohan

NEW DELHI: Anju George is a little disheartened that she could not finish among the top eight in the Osaka World championships, but looking back she feels happy to have made her third final on the trot.

For someone who had started the season with a 6.28-metre effort in the Asian Grand Prix in Guwahati in June, the 6.60 in the qualifying round in Osaka was no mean achievement. One could always point out to the better 6.65m in the Asian championships in Amman, but that was the final, not a qualifying competition involving several seven-metre jumpers as it was in the World championships.

“My focus was not this year but next year and the Beijing Olympics,” said Anju over phone from Osaka on Wednesday, barely 12 hours after she finished ninth (6.53m) in the women’s long jump final.

“I will be going all out in the Olympic year,” said Anju. She will be 31 by then. Incidentally, Russians Tatyana Lebedeva, the newly-crowned world champion and Tatyana Kotova, the bronze medallist, are one year elder to Anju.

Though the Indian season will be extending right up to the last week of October this year, Anju said that she was winding up the season. “You need to start early next year to get ready for Olympics.”

She planned to begin her competitive season next year with the National Games in February.

Anju could not compete in as many international meets as she would have liked this season. Though last-minute plans did enable her to participate in a meet in Leverkusen, Germany, on August 10, further participation in Europe was ruled out following a bout of fever.

At 29th in the world rankings (prior to World championships), Anju will need to improve her ranking to be able to gain easy entry into major international meets next season.

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