Commonwealth Games: For a young Indian athletics contingent, Gold Coast is a litmus test

Of the 222-strong contingent heading to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, it is the athletics contingent with 29 members, that is the largest one.

If the results of the recently concluded Federation Cup are anything to go by, India’s athletes are on course for a repeat of the same haul that they earned last time around. In Glasgow 2014, the athletics contingent returned with a haul of three medals, one of each colour. But the encouraging aspect about this contingent is the overwhelming flavour of youth.

Many of the 29, reduced from the original 31 after AFI failed to push Sreeshankar M and Siddharth Yadav’s accreditation through, are new faces; first-timers who will be trying their luck out Down Under in Gold Coast after edging out many of the established old guard over the last year.

All eyes on Neeraj and Tejaswin

In Rio 2016, Lalita Babar was the only Indian athlete to make the Olympic finals after breaking the national record in the 3000 metre steeplechase. It seemed that Indian athletics had hit a nadir. But the flip-side of that scenraio: the only direction going forward was up.

And so it proved, with two gentlemen in particular leading India’s charge towards Tokyo 2020. 20-year-old Neeraj Chopra won the junior world javelin title at Bydgoszcz, also setting a junior world record in the process, the first by an Indian in athletics at any level.

The thrower slightly disappointed in his first senior Worlds in London by not making the final of the competition but a training stint in Germany, followed by a successful throw of 85.94 metres in the Federation Cup sets him up nicely for a podium finish in Gold Coast, as he stands only behind Julius Yego of Kenya in the season leading into Commonwealth Games. With former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott absent, Chopra will fancy a medal if he can keep this level up.

Along with Chopra is a fellow national record holder Tejaswin Shankar. The high jumper Shankar is in safe hands, training in Kansas State with track and field legend coach Cliff Rovelto and London silver medallist Erik Kynard.

Shankar has already broken the national record twice this season, and his 2.28 metres at Patiala could have been bettered, had the tip of his shoe not grazed the top of the bar. The 19-year-old has been clearing 2.25 metres consistently but faces stiff competition at Gold Coast.

Derek Drouin, the reigning Olympic champion is absent but 2010 Commonwealth champion Donald Thomas of Bahamas, his compatriot Jamal Wilson and England’s Robbie Grabarz all lead a strong field with season leading marks of 2.31 metres.

The dark horses

Triple jumper Arpinder Singh, bronze medallist in Glasgow, will have to work extra hard to repeat or better his performance, with Jamaica’s Clive Pullen recording a season-highest 17.19 metres among Commonwealth nations. Arpinder won the Fed Cup with a 16.61 metres and should he match his 2017-18 high of 16.75, could be in line for a medal.

In long jump, Nayana James seems to have peaked at 6.55 metres but coach Bedros Bedrossian believes that the Kerala jumper has it in her to clear 6.8. She will need to get close to that mark in a strong field, with England’s Lorraine Ugen, leading the way with a 6.97 metres.

Another Indian athlete that’s in a class of one is Haryana’s shot putter Tejinder Pal Singh. The national record holder set the record of 20.40 at last year’s Federation Cup and came close to matching it with a 20.24 this March. New Zealand’s Tom Walsh currently leads Commonwealth lists with a 22.31 at the World Indoor Championships in March. Tejinder and coach Mohinder Dhillon have their work cut out for them.

Runner Hima Das stunned the field in Patiala in the 200 metres and the 400, as did Ayyasamy Dharun in the 400 metre hurdles. But it will be a daunting task for both the Commonwealth first-timers to return with a medal in the individual events.

As always, the 4 X 400 metres relay teams remain a source of hope in the track events, but preparations have been less than ideal. A stand-off between the Athletics Federation of India and non-campers hasn’t helped as Muhammed Anas, MR Povamma and Arokia Rajiv were given late SOS calls. The absence of Tintu Luka, Nirmala Sheoran and Jisna Matthew has meant that the women’s team is considerably weakened.

Racewalkers might spring a surprise or two

Slowly but surely, the racewalkers have asserted themselves in the hierarchy of Indian athletics and their eye-catching performances, especially at the big events has raised hope of a medal or two.

Manish Rawat with a 13th placed finish in Rio, KT Irfan with a solid 10th in London before him, have shown that Indian racewalking, if given the right impetus, can reap rich rewards for the entire athletics contingent.

Both men are in the fray this time around and finished 1-2 at the National Racewalking championships held in February in New Delhi. The main challenge for them will come from Samuel Gathimba and Simon Wachira of Kenya, but if they can crack the 1 hour 20 minute barrier in the 20 km walk, a Commonwealth medal is in the offing.

National record holder Soumya Baby and Khushbir Kaur sit fourth and fifth in the Commonwealth leading list for this year, but they aren’t too far away from Australia’s Bekki Smith.

With a young generation of athletes set to take over the baton en route to 2020, it is imperative they got off to the right start. Gold Coast is the perfect litmus test.