James Hillier: Realistic target for Paris 2024 is to get as many athletes into the final as possible

James Hillier, Athletics Director, at the Reliance Foundation says India has well and truly arrived at the Asian level. The next challenge is to do the same at the global level.

Amid controversy and drama, Jyothi Yarraji, who is coached by James Hillier, secured a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She faced disqualification for a false start but was later permitted to compete following a post-race review. | Photo Credit: AFP

The 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou saw India win 29 medals in athletics. The tally is India’s best in over seven decades. As somebody who was fortunate enough to witness the historic displays in Hangzhou, the performances by the Indian athletes were truly special.

The results consolidated my belief that India is becoming a dominant force in athletics at the Asian level. It is a case of success breeding more success. Several factors have contributed to this growing dominance.

James Hillier: “There are athletes in India now who are definite contenders for Olympic medals.” | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Improved confidence and self-belief

I have been in India for four years now, and in that time, the big difference that I have seen is that the confidence of the athletes and their self-belief have improved significantly. The athletes are getting significantly more exposure at the international level, and as a result, they are going into competitions with the belief that they can beat the top athletes. That’s the major change I see.

The Asian Games was a great opportunity for young athletes in particular. For instance, Mohammed Afsal won his first-ever medal at the international level at the Asian Games. He ran a brilliant race in the 800m to win silver. That kind of result does a world of good for a young athlete’s confidence. To see him set aside his disappointing performance at the Asian Championships and use it as a catalyst to improve and get better was very satisfying for me.

Murali Sreeshankar is another example of an athlete who has learned a lot from exposure. He struggled initially at the international level, but in 2023, he won silver at both the Asian Championships and the Asian Games after winning silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. He has come of age this year.

India has well and truly arrived at the Asian level. The next challenge is to do the same at the global level. In the next few years, the aim should be to win more at the world level, but Indian athletics is tracking in the right direction.

Public-private partnerships have also had a significant impact on the displays of Indian athletes. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has a partnership with the Reliance Foundation as its principal partner. It is extremely important to have specialists working with athletes in areas like sports science and medicine that can give them a crucial edge. The partnership has been hugely successful, and the aim is to make India a force to be reckoned with at the world and Olympic levels. The public and private sectors must work in close conjunction for a country to achieve its full sporting potential.

Importance of realistic expectations

With the Asian Games in the rearview mirror now, most top athletes will be shifting their focus to the Paris Olympics, which are scheduled for 2024. It is important, though, to temper our expectations because the step up in level from Asian to Olympic level is huge.

James Hillier is seen passing on some tips to Reliance Foundation athlete Amlan Borgohain. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There are athletes in India now who are definite contenders for Olympic medals, with the javelin throwers leading the way. The javelin throw final at the World Championships this year featured three Indians, an unprecedented feat for the country. The male jumpers, too, definitely have an outside chance of medalling at the Olympics. Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor is another athlete who can contend for a medal in an event dominated by Americans if he is injury-free and in his best shape and form.

For the majority, though, the first aim has to be to just qualify for the Olympics because that is a big achievement in itself. Once there, the target should be to be competitive. Among the athletes I work with, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji has broken through in 2023, winning five major international medals. She has had a brilliant year, but we are not talking about a medal. For the Paris Olympics, her goal has to be to reach the final. Statistically, most people who medal in athletics at the Olympics reached the final in the previous edition. We should be looking to get as many athletes into the final as possible in Paris. That, for me, is the realistic way of looking at things.

For the athletes who don’t make the cut for the Olympics, they shouldn’t be disheartened and should look at it as a year of consolidation. They should then look to build towards the World Championships and Asian Championships in 2025.

I have been involved with athletes in three Olympics, and what I always try to do is not get too involved in the hysteria surrounding them. If you get too caught up in the moment or let the emotions get to you, you tend to lose focus and not perform at your best. It is easier said than done, but the key is to treat the Olympics like any other event you compete in. It is the pinnacle of sporting excellence, but ultimately it is a competition, and the process remains the same. The hurdles are the same height, and the javelin is the same weight, so you have to keep your processes consistent and not do anything drastically different just because it’s the Olympic Games. For coaches, it’s important to instill a process-driven approach in athletes. That is the best way to prepare athletes, in my view.

Take the learnings and strive to improve

Ultimately, an international medal is never easy to win. You are never given an international medal; you always have to win. It is something I say to all the athletes I work with. No athlete is given a medal on a platter. They work hard to earn it. It is very important to recognise that. It is a stepping stone for bigger things to come.

It is important to learn from every competition because the only thing that is in your control is the will to improve. For an athlete, you don’t know what their ceiling is, but what you know is that there is scope for improvement and what areas can be focused on.

The confidence that athletes get from medals can manifest itself into belief, and belief is one of the most important tools that an athlete can possess. If an athlete believes, that can sometimes trump everything else and make the difference at the highest level.

I can again cite the example of Afsal. He has tremendous ability, works hard, and always gives his best in training. He hadn’t been able to replicate the same at the international level before the Asian Games. For someone like him, the medal at the Asian Games is a huge validation of all the hard work he has put in. It has imbued him with a lot of self-belief that he can do what he does in training at the international level too.

I’d love to see some of the medalists from the Asian Games go on to reach the finals at the Olympics or the World Championships. That would be an incredible achievement. Lastly, we see the medals that the athletes win, but we don’t see the journey behind those medals, and those journeys are truly special too. As a coach, the only thing you can do is push the athlete to realise their full potential.

James Hillier is the Athletics Director at the Reliance Foundation.