Last chance for Olympics

Jun 22, 2012 |

Kochi

Tags:

athletics

The senior inter-State athletics championship is set to kick-start at GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday and it will be the last chance for a few athletes to make their dreams making it to London Olympics materialise.

Joseph G. Abraham, at 31, might be past his prime, but the Guangzhou gold medallist in 400m hurdles still has the urge to compete for a B-standard of 49.80 seconds to qualify to the Olympics.
Another athlete who has remained relatively obscure recently is M.A. Prajusha.

The long jumper is set to mark her comeback after recovering from a knee injury, but will have to jump a tough 6.65 m to qualify.

Surprisingly, long jump queen Anju Bobby George is expected to return to action and she will be appearing for Tamil Nadu. It is not certain how the national record holder will perform in her second stint though.

While Anju returns and there are not many expectations from her, it is unlike the case of Joseph and Prajusha, both of whom have had their ups and downs since the Asian Games.

Joseph, who set the national record of 49.51 seconds five years ago, had clinched gold with a timing of 49.96 seconds in Guangzhou. He however, hasn’t been in the best form since the 2010 event.

Prajusha was one lucky participant in the Delhi Commonwealth Games. When the likes of Mayookha Johny and other favourites failed to deliver, Prajusha clinched silver with a humble effort of 6.47 m.

However, the 25-year-old will need to do far better than that to qualify for the Olympics. M.A. George, who has been training her for over a decade, believes the chances are bleak though he expects Prajusha will give her best shot.

“She has had a difficult time battling a knee injury. It will be tough, especially as there won't be much competition at the inter-state level, but she never gives up easily,” said George.

Kerala has sent a 64-member contingent for the championship and will be hoping to defend the title despite missing the services of several key performers. The meet will conclude on June 26.

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