Track and field action
begins tomorrow
With the Indian contingent putting up a rather lacklustre show thus far, the focus now shifts
to the athletes, who are expected to boost the meagre
medal collection in the showpiece athletics event of the 14th
Asian Games, beginning in Busan on Monday.
The small batch of athletes did quite creditably at the
recent Commonwealth Games and the 42-member team has come here
determined to prove that the Manchester performance was not a
flash in the pan but the result of improved standards.
Despite the presence of a galaxy of star athletes from the
region, some of the Indian participants could well be the big
medal winners here.
The large athletics contingent is expected to bring in
the biggest share of medals, and that should include a few
gold medals, too, besides a fair sprinkling of silver and
bronze.
K M Beenamol, who will be participating in the 400 and
the 800 metres, is one of the favourites for the gold
medal. Beenamol, who has trained in Ukraine and is in
good form, should clinch the gold in at least one of the two
events, if not in both.
In the shorter track events, Saraswati Dey stands a good
chance in the 200 metres, where she has a time of under 23 seconds at
home. If she manages to repeat that, a medal will be sure, but
Sri Lanka's Susantika Jayasinghe and the Chinese runners will
be her biggest threats.
Sunita Rani, entered in the 1,500 metres and the 5,000 metres at
present, could be the other gold medallist, while Anju B
George, in women's long jump and triple jump, and Bobby Aloysius,
in women's high jump, are also likely to return with medals.
The men have tougher competition though they have an
advantage in some of the field events. Led by veteran Shakti
Singh and Bahadur Singh in shot put, and Anil Kumar in discus,
the throwers should bag a few medals.
On the women's side, Neelam J Singh, bronze medal winner
in Bangkok'98, is a fine prospect to at least repeat her
performance in discus though she will be up against some tough
Chinese opponents.
India's second entry in the discus throw, Harwant
Kaur also stands a fair chance of winning a medal.
The 4x400 metres relay teams should get medals in both
men's and women's section. While the women are overwhelming
favourites for the gold, the men should be fighting for a
silver or bronze, considering their depth in the event.
Four years ago at Bangkok, India had 15 medals, including
two gold, both from Bengal's Jyotirmoyee Sikdar. This time the
situation should be better and even if the medal count is
likely to be similar, chances are that the gold collection
could be better with more than two golds almost looking a
certainty.
"We are confident of winning much more medals here. The
athletes are in good form and we are sure that they will put
up a good display," Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said.
The Indian athletes, who reached this port city a couple
of days ago, had a light training session though the steady
drizzle right through the day hampered their practice to some
extent.