While top athletes in Punjab stare at uncertain future, state athletics association officials fight for chair

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s gold-winning performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held last year in Japan was expected to inspire the entire athletic fraternity in India.

However, 10 months after Chopra's historic achievement, elite athletes from a state like Punjab are staring at an uncertain future due to wrangling between officials of the Punjab Athletics Association (PAA).

Despite the May 31 deadline set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to send entries for next month’s National Inter State Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Chennai, PAA is yet to select the state team.

A senior athlete from Patiala expressed his disappointment with the situation.

“While both president and secretary of the PAA are fighting for petty issues, athletes are unsure of competing at the national level. It is a big loss.”

While KPS Brar, secretary of the state athletics body, announced state trials on May 26 in Patiala, AK Sharma, president of the PAA, also announced state trials on the same date in Taran Taran.

Eventually, the AFI cancelled the state trials announced separately by the PAA president and secretary. The AFI, it is learnt, has summoned state officials for a deliberation on May 30 in Delhi.

Brar said that he took the initiative to support athletes but the president of the PAA creates hurdles.

“He (president) doesn’t let us work in the development of athletics in the state.”

Sharma wasn’t available for comment.

Punjab's athletes caught in a muddle

The Athletics Federation of India has invited the warring president and secretary of PAA to Delhi for deliberations | Image from the AFI General Meeting/Abu Metha

With time running out, athletes from Punjab are clueless about competing at the National Inter State Athletics Championships in Chennai, set to be held from June 10-14.

The Chennai competition assumes importance as it will act as a qualification event for both the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, as well as the Eugene World Athletics Championships scheduled to be held from July 15 to 24 in Oregon, USA.

A senior coach elaborated on the problem.

“Even if the trials are held after May 30, it would be difficult to give a good performance in the state trials and recover to excel at the national level 10 days later to achieve the qualification mark for either the Commonwealth Games or the World Championships.”