The Hindu : Sport : Olympic probables to train in Muscat

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Wednesday, Dec 19, 2007
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Olympic probables to train in Muscat

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has selected a 20-member team to train in Muscat, Oman, in preparation for next year’s major competitions including the Beijing Olympic Games. The athletes are scheduled to train in Muscat between January 6 and February 12.

The bulk of the batch comprises 400-metre runners in both sections since India will be hoping to qualify for the Olympics relay events. The top 16 teams in the world, based on the average timing of their two best results achieved in designated competitions in 2007 and 2008, will be chosen to compete in the Olympics. Qualification period will end on July 16 for relay teams and July 23 for individual events.

Four Indians, triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, discus thrower Vikas Gowda, walker Babubhai Panocha and woman long jumper Anju George, have already attained the qualification criteria.

The AFI is hoping that more athletes will make it in 2008 in individual events, especially in the men’s and women’s middle distance events, men’s 400-metre hurdles (Joseph Abraham), high jump (Hari Sankar Roy), shot put (Navpreet Singh), decathlon (P.J. Vinod) and women’s 400 metres, discus and heptathlon.

At the Jamshedpur Open it was deemed that 800-metre runner Sajeesh Joseph (1:47.42) had also qualified since the ‘B’ norm listed in the IAAF standards happened to be 1:47.60. However, since then the IAAF has changed that timing to 1:47.00.

India fared rather poorly in the longer relays in 2007, its best in the women’s section being the 3:33.39 clocked while winning the gold in the Asian championships in Amman, one of the IAAF-designated events. Twelve teams bettered that timing in the World championships in Osaka, another designated event, while China bettered it during the Asian Grand Prix series. At least another seven teams bettered it in other designated events in Europe and elsewhere.

The men’s 4x400m relay team’s best in 2007 was 3:07.94 that it achieved in Amman while winning the bronze. Fifteen teams bettered that timing in Osaka and at least another seven teams bettered it in other designated events.

Tough task

India thus will have a tough time making the grade in the relay events though the AFI is quite hopeful that by mid-2008 the runners would have come into top form and there should be little problem in qualifying at least in the women’s section.

Incidentally, India is not hosting an Asian Grand Prix leg this season, with two scheduled in Thailand and one in Vietnam. In all likelihood the continental GP series will be designated for relay qualification, as it was this year.

The team for Muscat is expected to include Joseph Abraham, P.J. Vinod and heptathlete J.J. Shobha along with woman discus throwers Seema Antil and Harwant Kaur. Another discus thrower, Krishna Poonia, has opted for a private training programme in the U.S. Shot putter Navpreet Singh is also expected to train in the U.S.

Renjith Maheswary, now training in Durban, South Africa, under a Mittal Champions Trust programme, should also be making the trip to Muscat along with another triple jumper, Bibu Mathew.

There are doubts about some of the quarter-milers being available for Muscat. K.M. Binu, national record holder in the 400 metres who is one of the athletes selected, has reportedly not joined the camp in Patiala. Of course there are several other absentees as well in the NIS camp, it is learnt.

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