Testing time ahead for potential record breakers

By Avinash Nair

BANGALORE, JULY 16. The National record breakers are all keyed up for an encore in the third National domestic athletic meet to be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Monday but with the Damocles sword hanging above them.

The excitement of the last meet, held at the same venue 12 days ago, has yet to settle down. In the wake of the Amateur Athletic Association of India's (AAFI) measures to curb tongue wagging after the spate of National records besides the Asian mark set by Shakti Singh at the last meet here, the athletes have more than a point to prove. But it will be the parent body that will have to answer a few imposing questions.

``All record breakers will be subjected to tests,`` stated Mr. Lalit Bhanot, the AAFI secretary, after the meeting in New Delhi on Friday. ``And more importantly the records set at Bangalore and Nagercoil will be ratified only after the Asian championship at Jakarta at the end of August this year.''

Urine samples will be tested at the SAI laboratory in New Delhi as it involves exorbitant costs in sending samples abroad. All these are a fallout of P.T. Usha crying foul as one after the other three of her long standing records fell in the last three weeks. But then if the present crop of sprinters and throwers have improved abnormally over the months, so be it.

Shakti Singh, is bent upon improving the Asian mark of 20.60 metres in the shot put, which he set at Bangalore on July 5. And if his `boasts' can be counted, the magical barrier of 21.0 metres is well within reach.

So is the case with the sprinters - Services' Anil Kumar and Rachita Mistry of Railways. Anil will have to pull in all his reserves with Rajeev Balakrishnan breathing down his neck. But if the margin of victory in the last meet is any yardstick Anil will be hard to beat. And the same is the case with Rachita.

Rachita, who seemed to have improved immensely after the month long stint in Kiev, will only try and improve upon the time of 11.26s that she set here. ``This track in Bangalore is fast and improved timings can only be expected here,'' Rachita said after the last meeting.

Vinita Tripathi was another to smash Usha's record. After a series of 23.6 plus timings in the longer sprint, Vinita managed to obliterate Usha's mark of 23.27s set in the New Delhi Asian Track and Field meet in 1989, clocking 23.04s. And she will look to repeat the feat and if Rachita too is in the starting blocks, it could be anybody's guess.

With Sunita Rani ruled out of both the majors - Asian Championships and the Sydney Olympics - the onus surely rests on these handful.

K.M. Beenamol is yet again conspicuous by her absence in the 400m line up but the `long limbed' Bobby Aloysius gets another opportunity to correct the wrongs. Twice in the recent past Bobby was `robbed' of her record in the high jump mark, thanks to inept `officialdom' and the Kerala girl is all keyed up to soar to a new high on Monday.

All this will take place rains gods permitting. For a wet underfoot would hamper all expectations.

According to late information the relay events will be given a skip and only 16 events will be gone through beginning at 11.00 a.m.

The events:

Men: Hammer throw, 110m hurdles, shot put, 400m, discus throw, 100m, long jump, 1500m, javelin throw, 200m.

Women: High jump, hammer throw, 400m, discus throw, long jump, 100m, 1500m, javelin throw and 200m.

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Section  : Sport
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