Poised for a giant leap

Ranked 13th in the world, ace long jumper Anju George has now set her sights on winning an Olympic medal. In this interview, she talks about her training and the motivating factor in her life, her husband Bobby George.

Anju B. George being congratulated by her husband and coach Robert George soon after she broke the national long jump record at Thiruvananthapuram.

SPORTS CAN sometimes script fairy tale careers as it did in the case of P.T. Usha and Shiny Wilson. And now, there is ace long jumper Anju George all set to vie for a place in history. Pushed into the sports arena as a reluctant two-year old by her overzealous father, Anju, hailing from Changanassery in Kerala, has come a long way. Just consider her present status in athletics: national record holder, gold medallist at the last Asian Games in Busan, first Indian woman athlete to win a medal in the Commonwealth Games and the first Asian to qualify for the World Indoor Athletic Meet held in Birmingham early this year. With such an array of achievements, can anyone grudge the lakhs of rupees she has gained through awards, forgetting the kind of sacrifice and pain she had undergone in pursuit of excellence?

Few can last in a demanding event like long jump, often injuries curtailing budding careers. For, aside from the required coordination of the mind and the limbs, the pressure that the jump can bring to bear on the ankles and the joints can be excruciating at times. Even Anju had seriously considered quitting the scene, when she failed to make it to the 2000 Sydney Olympics (after having achieved the qualifying norm) owing to an ankle injury. She was just married then to former national triple jump star Bobby George, who incidentally is the youngest brother of the late Jimmy George, the legendary volleyballer. But that was when the script took a different path thanks to Bobby. He was the guide and the galvanising force behind the resurrection of Anju. From Anju Markose to Anju George and then to one of the leading long jumpers in the world, that's how the transformation came. Now, Anju cherishes a lofty dream that no Indian athlete has been able to fulfil so far, that of winning an Olympic medal. Two years ago, such a thought would have been dismissed with an `Ah, we have heard that before'. But jumping 6.74 m (her national mark) on a regular basis and having gone well beyond that in training, Anju is currently ranked 13th in the world. With a little experience, she should be able to do it. People who have seen her progress believe that. But what does she have to say? "I hope I will be able to do it. I feel confident. The Birmingham experience has removed that sense of being overawed in the midst of top class performers," said Anju.

Anju has set out along with hubby Bobby, on a 16-month training-cum-participation schedule to the U.S. and Europe, running up to the Athens Olympics scheduled next August. By then she would have taken part in the European grand prix, the World Athletic Championship and the Asian Athletics Championship and gained rich experience. But what came as a motivation for this long trip was the invitation from Mike Powell, current world record holder in men's long jump, to train under him in California State University. "It was Father Robin Paul in Bangalore, who helped me in this regard. He had a friend in California and through him the offer came through," said Anju a day before she left Chennai. With financial support from the Union Government, Anju is understandably optimistic. Perhaps, the biggest thanks should go to her parents. She laughs when she recollects those early days when her father would drag her and her younger brother from bed for training in running at the nearby ground in Changnassery. "My brother could not last the rigors, while my interest gradually grew as I came under the influence of Thomas Sir (incidentally, he is a much-admired athletics trainer in Kottayam and an uncle of Shiny Wilson) in Koruthode school," Anju recalled. From there began her involvement in competitions as she rose to become a leading performer in Calicut University before donning state and national colours. A preventive officer with Chennai Customs, Anju virtually lives in Bangalore being regularly in training at the NIS South Centre.

Anju admits that Bobby has proved to be the biggest influence on her life. "He has made me realise the potential in me, backed me whenever things do not go well and instilled the belief in me that I can do it," she said. "Being an engineer, he has done a lot of research in bio-mechanics, and does a lot of reading concerning jumps for my sake. And invariably, he would be accurate in his estimation of my jumps," she went on. Perhaps that is why Bobby is so confident that Anju can get her act together and make those big jumps in practice session come true on the competition arena. May be there is one big surprise in store for every Indian in Athens 2004 Olympics.

S.R. SURYANARAYAN

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu