Indian athletics not on the track

CHENNAI: As Neeraj Chopra’s javelin soared through the Parisian night sky in the final, it wasn’t hard to wonder why that performance was a one-off in athletics. That Chopra has come to symbolise excellence isn’t a surprise; he has shown time and again that the only way for him is up. However, at the Games, from an Indian athletics point of view, the only thing that had an upward trajectory was Chopra’s javelin.

The disappointment didn’t come from the absence of other medals. It came because of a string of less than ideal displays right across the board. In events like athletics where a lot of Indians aren’t necessarily contenders at the global level, you look for other things like season bests, personal bests, national records, advancing to the semifinal… small increments to show they are on the right path.

It didn’t transpire that way. Take for instance both of Jyothi Yarraji’s runs in Paris. Over the last year, she has become a consistent sub 13 seconds operator. In this time, she has also won Asian honours apart from lowering the national record. On that purple Mondo track though, the 24-year-old clocked outside of the 13.15 seconds mark both times.