Girls shine bright in athletic meet

[1]

When winning becomes a habit, you fail to notice the nearest opponent closing in and as he or she suddenly overtakes you, you are left on the tracks out of breath and utterly clueless.

Kerala’s athletes are in the same situation at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi where the 27th National Junior Athletic Meet is being held.

Haryana is making steady strides, extending its lead over reigning champions Kerala. The reason is simple: Kerala’s hopes are kept alive by its female athletes while the contribution from the boys has been far from satisfactory.

Of the 10 gold medals Kerala gathered after two days of the meet, nine were earned by girls and if it was not for hurdler Pinto Mathew, Kerala would have had no firsts in the men’s department.

On the other hand the Haryana boys and girls put on a balanced show. At the halfway mark of the meet, Haryana’s kitty was choc a block with 18 golds which included 12 from the boys and six from the girls – not good news for the 60 boys who set off from Ernakulam for the athletic meet.

So, why are Kerala’s boys not able to match strides with their north Indian counterparts? “The answer is quite simple, our junior boys are more interested in getting jobs in the army or elsewhere because they realise early on in their lives that there are not many training centres available in the state,” said coach and member of State Athletic Association, P.I. Babu.

The senior coach points out that in recent years Haryana has developed a lot of training centres with the support of the Sports Authority of India(SAI) and the athletes, both boys and girls are benefiting from the quality of training given there.

“It is a strange fact that our boys, just after they finish Class X, are roped in by the army or an institution like it and end up in facilities that don’t provide any worthwhile training. The scenario is exactly the opposite in Haryana or Punjab,” said Babu.

“On the other hand there is a traditionalist mentality in our girls who believe in gradual progress. They join colleges after school and continue athletics.

“It is their persistence that rewards them while our young boys spoil their careers in search of jobs much earlier on,” he pointed out.