India gets set to go on an emotional ride with Neeraj Chopra one more time

There can be no doubt that over the past few years, he has virtually single-handedly drawn the entire nation’s attention to athletics. When he won the World Junior Championships in 2016 and marked his presence, India celebrated. When he won the Asian Championships in 2017 with a last-ditch throw, we were in awe of his composure.

We soaked in delight when he won the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games crowns in 2018. We also agonised when he sat out for several months on end owing to an elbow injury. And, finally when Neeraj Chopra bossed the Olympic Games competition with an opening throw of 87.58m, we were over the moon.

Now, for the first time, an Indian athlete is expected to be on the podium at a World Athletics Championships. Till last year, few would have imagined that we would be able to write or hear something like this. Before Neeraj Chopra won the Olympic Games gold in Tokyo on August 7 last, such a thought would have been dismissed as preposterous.

It is different, isn’t it? That India is all set to go on an emotional ride with him one more time. That an Indian athlete will be looked at with more than cursory interest in a World Championships is a unique, if not rare, occurrence. 

Of course, Anju Bobby George won the women’s Long Jump bronze back in 2003 – and that remains India’s only medal in the World Championships – but she did start the Paris meet as a medal favourite as Neeraj Chopra will, especially after his monumental achievement in becoming the first Indian track and field athlete to win Olympic gold.

It would be unfair to focus only on Neeraj Chopra, even if the young man does not seem to allow that to get to him and remains grounded. As M Sreeshankar unhesitatingly pointed out some days ago, Neeraj Chopra’s success in Tokyo sparked greater self-belief among the entire crop of athletes at the elite, development and grassroot levels.

Long Jumper Sreeshankar will be one other Indian who will be in the limelight. Among the season’s leaders after setting the National Record at 8.36m, it will be interesting to see how he draws on his experience to make a pitch to be among the finalists. That three Indians gained entry in the Long Jump competition is another talking point.

However, if there is one athlete other than Neeraj Chopra who must be picked for his consistency, it would be Avinash Sable. If the Steeplechaser can sustain form and make it to the final, it would be wonderful. He has been training in Colorado Springs in the United States for more than three months now and has the potential to make it to his second successive final.

Before his wrist injury, Shot Putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor had carved out a niche for himself with his constant improvement. He is in on the way back, but it is tough seeing him make a run for a berth in the final. Yet, he will be under pressure to come up with an effort that is close to 21m to convince everyone that his injury and the rehab process have not curbed his zest.

Similarly, Annu Rani had caught our imagination with her sustained efforts until a shocking dip in the Olympic Games raised questions about her temperament. She has a chance to show that she is ready to regain some of that reputation as a consistent Javelin Thrower by making it to the final again. 

Hopefully, irrespective of the results obtained by the Indians in the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, fans back home will look at statistics a bit more objectively. One is saying this since there has been so much chatter around quite a few one-off performances this season. And some of this does build pressure of expectation on young athletes.

Of course, season best performances are a good statistic to fall back on and feel good, but we also need to respect world ranking, an indication of consistency. For instance, his season best effort of 8.26m places Jeswin Aldrin eighth place in this year’s Long Jump list, good enough for people to conclude that he could be a medal contender, overlooking his World No. 57 rank.

If the Triple Jumpers – Abdulla Aboobacker, Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul – can produce 17m efforts, they would have done enough to show the event in better light. For long, Indian Triple Jumpers have come a cropper on the bigger stages. If the trio can turn the tide, it would enhance the reputation of their ilk.

Surely, there is a lot that needs to be done for India to transition to a country which does well at the Asian level to one which can begin to mark its presence in global competitions. But the heartening thing is that the ball has been set rolling for that process. Hopefully, Neeraj Chopra’s success as an athlete and his endearing qualities as a human can have a cascading effect. 

There has also been a setback in terms of the women’s 4x400m relay team. From carrying the squad’s hopes and winning at the Asian level, it has shockingly slid to having no presence. Hima Das’ absence since 2019, VK Vismaya’s decline in form through injury and now M R Poovamma’s doping violation has affected the team no end. 

Talk of Poovamma also brings us to the fact that doping will continue to cast its shadow over the landscape, much as we detest the idea. One of the constants in the Indian team for more than a dozen years, Poovamma is among the latest to have been sanctioned for a doping violation which occurred in March last year. 

Yet, it is time to take the minds away from such adversities and focus on the fact that not only will it be the first time that an Indian athlete enters the World Athletics Championships as a medal favourite but also have a clutch of performers who join a bunch of young Indian sportspersons in showing that they have acquired a fearlessness now.