When I flew to Busan for the 2002 Asian Games, my aim was to win the gold. I would not have settled for anything less. Having won the bronze at the Commonwealth Games at Manchester earlier in the year, I was confident that I could strike gold at the Asian Games, where, I knew, the competition wasn’t going to be as tough. I also knew that India had never won a medal in the women’s long jump event; I am proud that I could become the first. And the medal I won was the first one India got in athletics at Busan. That also made me happy.
I had begun with a jump of 6.45m and was in the lead right through. My best effort was 6.53m, which fetched me the gold and brought much cheer to the Indian camp.
But, I had reasons to be apprehensive in Busan, though. I had arrived just a day before the competition, as the flight was rescheduled three times and had to take the longest route. On the day I landed, it was raining badly, and all the practice I could manage was inside the Games village.
Four years later at Doha, I had to settle for the silver. I wasn’t in good shape then, after contracting an infection while training in South Africa. I was so ill that I could not even sleep properly for weeks. Though I was registering distances as low as 5.85m during the trials, I could come up with 6.52m to come second in the competition, behind Japan’s Kumiko Ikeda.
As told to P. K. Ajith Kumar
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