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Of selfless service
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Shivnath Singh, one of India's best long distance runners, died recently. ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA pays a tribute to this athlete whose dedicated approach made him an ideal role model for aspiring sportspersons.
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THE UNTIMELY demise of Shivnath Singh, one of India's best long distance runners has saddened many athletics fans in the country. Shivnath's superb achievements at the international level in the 1970s were a source of inspiration for budding athletes of those days.
Shivnath belonged to that rare breed of Indians who could perform best under pressure. In practice he often chalked up 20 kilometres every day in his quest for excellence. Long distance running is perhaps the toughest and most gruelling event in sports but his tremendous determination enabled him to register many noteworthy performances in international meets.
Starting out as a promising army athlete in 1973, he progressed rapidly. His achievements included two silver medals in the Asian championships in Manila in 5000 mts and 10,1000 mts and a gold in the Tehran Asian Games in 10,000 mts. Later he set the National record of 2 hrs 12 min 00 secs in the marathon. His career faded away after the 1982 Asiad in Delhi.
But all his lion-hearted efforts provided him negligible monetary rewards. Long distance running is not a glamour sport and no sponsors are attracted to it. Only those who knew what sacrifices had gone into winning each medal could appreciate the man's spirit. Shivnath just did his duty for his country and asked for nothing. He was too modest a person to push himself forward in any field other than the race track. After quitting the army he was employed by TISCO for a few years before he decided on early retirement.
However perhaps his best moment came during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal when he came 11th in the marathon competing against the best runners in the world. Although he was troubled by a pain in his shins resulting from the years of stress that his legs and feet had to undergo, Shivnath nevertheless led the way for more than half the distance before the pain got the better of him and one by one other runners overtook him.
Eventually the winner was Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany. Shivnath finished 11th but the superhuman effort that he had put in, and the fight that he had put up for every inch of the 26 mile 385 yard race, earned him the admiration and affection of many of his countrymen. Shivnath's death, just before his 57th birthday, has robbed Indian athletics of a brave but humble personality. He was a man whose unassuming and dedicated approach made him an ideal role model for aspiring sportspersons.
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