Indian athletes to train in Poland, Finland

To prepare for the Asian Games in Jakarta in August, the quarter-milers and relay runners will go to Spala in Poland, javelin throwers to camp in Finland.

India's Nayana James at the women's long jump final at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

 

Just like their preparations prior to the Rio Olympics, the quarter-milers and the relay runners will be going to Spala in Poland as they prepare for the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.

The javelin throwers will be travelling to Finland while the distance runners and steeple chasers are likely to go to Bhutan.

They will go abroad, return for the Inter-State Nationals in Guwahati (June 26-29) and will go back to their foreign bases only to return a few days before the Asiad.

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“They will go by May 10, that is the tentative plan,” said Deputy Chief National Coach Radhakrishnan Nair. The proposal has been sent to the Sports Authority of India for approval.

But the long and triple jumpers will not be going anywhere, they will be training in India at least till the Inter-State Nationals.

Except male triple jumper Arpinder Singh, the others disappointed at Commonwealth Games. Though V. Neena and Nayana James, the Asian Championships silver and bronze medallists in Bhubaneswar last year, qualified for the CWG final, they could manage only pathetic jumps when it mattered the most with efforts of 6.19m and 6.14m respectively. Nayana (6.51m) and Neena (6.42) had far superior season bests.

And Rakesh Babu, another male triple jumper who had also qualified for the final, was thrown out of the Games’ Village in Gold Coast after a syringe was found in his bag. The CWG had a strict no-needle policy.

Three days ago, long and triple jump national coach Bedros Bedrosian said he was not aware of any foreign trip for his trainees.

“I don’t know yet, I’ll have more details tomorrow,” said the Romanian.

But on Wednesday, he said they were not going anywhere till the Inter-State Nationals. “I had planned for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan but I realised that it would be Ramadan time then and getting proper food could be a problem for athletes,” Bedrosian told Sportstar . “I think we can go to Malaysia after the Inter-State meet, for training and competition before the Asian Games.”

Bedrosian also revealed that national long jump record holder Ankit Sharma, who suffered an injury last year, is expected to regain full fitness in about two weeks while Rakesh is yet to join the national camp.

“I don’t know what the committee (to look into the CWG syringe incident) has given in its report and I have not heard anything from the federation regarding it. But Rakesh has not joined the camp and I don’t know when he will join,” he said.