[1]An eight-member Indian squad, including three Malayali athletes will take part in the world athletics championship that begins on Saturday at Daegu, South Korea and the occasion demands we leap back in time and remember Anju Bobby George, the only Indian athlete who has won a medal (in 2003, Paris) on the world stage.
Anju won bronze with a long jump performance of 6.70m. After her stepping down from competiton, the search is on for the successors.
Two possible candidates who are in great form are Mayookha Johny and Tintu Luka. Mayookha recently became the first Indian women to leap beyond 14 m in triple jump and achieved the feat twice while Tintu had a prolific season in the Europe winning two gold medals and one silver.
Mayookha had touched her personal best and national record of 14.11m during the Asian Athletic Championship in Kobe, Japan in July. Meanwhile, Tintu in the European circuit won the 800 m at Karlstad, Sweden, and then at Amsterdam.
However, the championship will be a test of character for ace triple jumper Renjith Maheswari who is going through a tough patch.
The national record holder’s best this season has been 16.01m in the inter-State meet and he has not had a break since winning bronze with a career best of 17.07 m in the Delhi CWG.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/tintu0jpgcropdisplayjpg-573