What India needs to do to produce world-class track and field athletes regularly

Indian athletics has always been a story of over-promise and under-delivery. Over the years, we have seen Indian athletes produce some brilliant results in various events at the Asian level. Performances of Indian athletes at the Commonwealth Games have been improving too but, at the world level, they have underperformed big time.

India has produced only one athletics world championship medalist, courtesy Anju Bobby George, at the 2003 World Championships in the Women's Long Jump since the beginning of the biennial championships in 1983. Indian athletes like the legendary Milkha Singh, Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, and P.T. Usha have produced some of their best performances at the Olympics but didn't manage to win a medal.

Overall, the number of inspirational performances produced by Indian athletes in the discipline of Track and Field at the world level have come few and far between. To inspire a nation of 1.4 billion people, Indian athletes need to come up with improved performances regularly to make the sport of athletics popular in India.

Let's have a look at certain parameters that can push Indian athletes to a world-class level in the discipline of Track and Field.

Invest in events where Indian athletes have done well

Historically, Indian athletes produced some brilliant results in track events at the world level in the 20th century. But since the beginning of the 21st century, Indian athletes have performed better in field events rather than track events.

The likes of Anju Bobby George (women's long jump), Krishna Poonia (women's discus throw) and Vikas Gowda (men's discus throw) have managed to finish among the top 8 athletes in their respective events at the Olympics.

Krishna Poonia finished 6th in women's discus throw at the 2012 London Olympics

Among the current crop of Indian athletes, javelin throwers have been doing pretty well at the world level. Be it Annu Rani, who finished 8th in the final of the women's javelin event at the 2019 World Athletics championships, or be it Neeraj Chopra, who has been a constant feature in the top list of world javelin among men, we have been a force to reckon with.

Young athletes like Murali Sreeshankar (men's long jump) and Kamalpreet Kaur (women's discus throw) too have the talent that needs to be exploited by providing them with all the best training facilities possible. We need to acknowledge these strengths and provide these athletes with the best facilities if they are to compete against some of the best athletes in the world.

Sprinting events at the world level are dominated by the likes of the USA and Jamaica, while the middle and long-distance events, where we have been Asian giants, are dominated by African countries like Kenya and Ethiopia. The level of competition in field events is also quite significant but some of the Indian athletes are very much capable of making inroads in them at the world level. Hence, it is imperative to nurture the raw talent of Indian athletes in these events if they are to become world-class.

Improving exposure and infrastructure

Another important factor for Indian athletes to reach a world-class level would be improving the exposure and infrastructure for them. None of the countries in the Indian sub-continent are renowned for producing world-class athletes in track and field discipline. Even in Asia, the level of athletics is not that good compared to the world level.

The Athletics Federation of India regularly sends top Indian athletes for tours in Europe and America where they get the necessary exposure. However, the AFI should also plan on sending budding Indian athletes regularly with the elite ones as it can prove to be a life-changing experience for them.

Electrifying #Athletics facility somewhere in Panipat...🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/UEZqw5aUor

— Nitin Arya (@nitinarya99) June 8, 2021

Meanwhile, the infrastructure of athletics facilities in various states of our country that are in shambles should be improved. The performances of top Indian athletes at the world level can inspire junior and youth level athletes but those athletes will certainly require a potent infrastructure and training facilities to reach world-class levels.

Conditioning of junior-level athletes

Over the years, many Indian athletes at the junior and youth level have shown a lot of promise at the World U20 and U18 Athletics Championships. There have been many good performances delivered by Indian athletes at the Youth Olympics as well. However, many of them have faded when they make a transition to senior level.

Damneet Singh won a World U18 championships silver medal in 2017 in Hammer Throw

The reason for that is a very lackluster rehabilitation system that is in place for our athletes. Junior athletes are especially prone to injuries and due to lack of proper conditioning, many of the talented Indian athletes at the junior level have not lived up to the talent they had promised.

Many Indian athletes at the junior level have fallen prey to unfair methods in athletics as well. They should constantly have a mentor or a guide who keeps them away from such practices. Fairly nurturing junior level Indian athletes is very important to exploit their full potential when they make a transition to the senior level.

Indian athletes should peak at the World Championships and Olympics

Many Indian athletes in track and field events have a knack for peaking at the Asian and Commonwealth Games. However, during the World Championships and Olympics years, they focus mostly on qualifying for these events.

Historically, the attitude of Indian athletes has been like this. They are under the impression that their best performance can produce a podium finish at the Asian and Commonwealth levels only, while at the Olympics, they are sure to fade away in oblivion. This attitude needs to change among Indian athletes. They need to believe in their abilities and put their best foot forward on the world stage as well.

However, this attitude has changed over the past 4-5 years and at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, we had 3 events where Indian athletes qualified for the finals. Neeraj Chopra has been performing consistently well in the Diamond League series. If Indian athletes keep performing well in world-level events more regularly, India can surely become a world-class athletics nation.

Proper coverage of national and international meets

One of the most important factors to make a sport popular in a particular region is by providing adequate coverage to it. The current state of Indian athletes in track and field events doesn't throw an optimistic picture. Other than the likes of Hima Das and Neeraj Chopra, most Indian athletes are not that popular among the masses.

Proper coverage of national and international events is the need of the hour. We need to provide encouragement to our athletes and cheer for them. Once they get their due recognition, they will be motivated to produce the best results for India in every tournament which will push Indian athletics to a world-class level.