Andy Ashurst has stated that he has been impressed by the growth of athletics in India, recalling the moment that made him sit up and take notice.
At the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, the Indian men put up a good fight in the 4x400m relay. In the heats, Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, and Rajesh Ramesh finished second, registering a time of 2:59.05.
The quartet managed to finish very close to leaders USA (Trevor Bassitt, Matthew Boling, Christopher Bailey, and Justin Robinson), who clocked 2:58.47 in the heats. The Indians, however, failed to get to the podium, finishing fifth in the end with a time of 2:59.92.
In an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda, Ashurst, the pole vault champion at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, stated that he has noticed the increase the Indian athletes' performances across various disciplines.
"Well, I have certainly noticed Indian athletes and have been hearing about them on TV and at various athletics meetings in Europe. I was also at the World Championships last year. One thing that did surprise me, I think it was the 4x400 semifinals and the Indian men's team came out and they were toe to toe with the American team. I was like ‘wow, where did they come from?’" Andy Ashurst said.
The 59-year-old is currently in India conducting masterclasses in Odisha and Mumbai at Reliance’s training centers. He most recently also conducted a two-day workshop for coaches at the Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Training Center.
Speaking about the same, Ashurst opined that it was one of the best facilities he had ever laid his eyes on. He also spoke about the advantages of having an indoor facility, especially for a sport like pole vault.
"The new facility in Bhubaneshwar is fantastic. It was one of the reasons that enticed me to come over here. My friend Martin, he was saying that there's going to be an indoor center. And finally, I actually saw it in action. I was keen to come and see it in the flesh. That facility really helps move things on, especially the technical events," Andy Ashurst stated.
"I know the weather here has been fantastic anyway and it's perfectly good to train outside, but there are going to be times of the year when having an indoor facility will be very important, especially for pole vaulting where you can take the wind and rain out of the equation. You can get quality sessions done all year round. And it's a very fast track, so the facility in there is one of the best I've seen," he added.
"The main thing is to try different events" - Andy Ashurst on his advice for young athletes
After calling time on his career, Andy Ashurst transitioned into a coach. Incidentally, his daughter Sophie Ashurst is a budding pole vaulter, who won the Under-20 National/European trial honours in 2021. Additionally, she also set a new English Schools Championship best of 4.21m.
The Loughborough University student also produced a strong display at the Junior World Championships in Colombia later.
When asked about what advice he had for budding athletes, Andy stated that anyone new to athletics needed to try their hands at multiple events rather than get stuck with just one.
"For people starting in not only pole vaulting but in general, the main thing is, I think, to try different events and not just focus on one event. Because athletics, it's a broad thing. You've got to be a bit of an all-rounder and with pole vaulting especially, you can run, you can jump, possibly throw. It's all things that will help develop into a really good pole vaulter," Andy Ashurst said.
"With the facilities in the coaching, my advice would be to ‘listen to your coach, do the drills correctly, enjoy the sports.’ I've always seen training as fun, even though we spend hours and hours in the gym or climbing down ropes, I just see a fun part of the process because the end result is trying to be the best you can, jumping as high as you can. Some of it is hard work, there's no hiding for that. But yeah, my advice would definitely be to listen to your coach, do the drills, and have fun," he added.
