Her last tryst with the Commonwealth won her accolades and medal glory – a deserving bronze at the 2004 Youth Games in Australia – and this time around, rising talent Kavya Muthanna will be looking to raise the bar (literally) on her performance at the tougher and more challenging CWG in Delhi.
Facing a strong field in the high jump event, the determined lass is promising no guarantees, except that she will put in her 100% to bag a medal at the high-profile event. “Youth Games and CWG have totally different levels of competition. This (CWG) will have more experienced athletes and the level of competition will be really tough. I cannot give any guarantees of a medal but I will put in my 100% in a bid to win it,” Kavya said.
The 22-year-old notched up her personal best of 1.80m at the inter-state meet at Patiala, which won her a place in the CWG squad. But that may just not be enough to guarantee a medal as the top three winners at the 2006 Melbourne Games’ had scores of 1.91m, 1.88m and 1.83, respectively.
“It looks a bit difficult but it can be done. My preparations are going on good and fitness-wise too, I am ready. I am working on my technique and endurance and hopefully all this works in my favour at the Games,” said Kavya, who trains at the SAI Sports Centre.
After taking up track and field seriously at the age of 12, Kavya’s switch to high jump has worked wonders. In 2004, she set a new national record of 1.70m in front of her home crowd at the U-18 junior athletics championships and followed it up with commanding performances over the next few years. At the international level, she clinched silver at the 2007 South Asian junior championships in Sri Lanka and a year later, secured a bronze at the 2nd Asian All Stars Athletics Meet held in Bhopal.
In May year, she won the gold at the 15th National Senior Federation Cup Athletic Championship at Ranchi. “I have been performing really well this year and I hope I can continue my good form. The CWG is very crucial for me as it will be a selection trial for the Asian Games in China in November,” said the engineering graduate.
Coach G.V. Gaonkar, who has been training Kavya for over 10 years, says winning a medal will be nothing but a miracle. “If we see as per statistics, there is no chance of a medal since most of the 10-odd athletes battling it out with Kavya have touched the 1.90m mark. However, Kavya is a good fighter and very dedicated and always consistent. Anything between 1.85 and 1.90 can give us a fighting chance,” he said.