Sport - Athletics

Asian GP: losing its sheen

K.P. Mohan

PUNE: The Asian Grand Prix circuit was started in 2002 with the idea of providing high-level competition to those `elite' athletes of the region who normally fail to make it to the more lucrative IAAF Grand Prix circuit.

Unfortunately, it has become a stage for the second-rung athletes or even those ranked much lower, to show their prowess and to have a share in the meagre prize money. The way the prize fund has shrunk over the years should in itself provide an indication of the hurdles that the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) had been facing in organising the circuit.

Last year, the gold medal fetched $2,500, silver $700 and bronze $400. This time the corresponding figures are, $1,500, $800 and $500.

Champions keep away

Obviously the circuit has failed to attract the best in the continent. In the 17 events being competed this year, there is not a single Asian champion from Incheon in the men's section. There are four in the women's section, Manjeet Kaur (400m), Tatiana Efimenko (Kazakhstan, high jump), Anju Bobby George (long jump) and Song Aimin (China, discus).

True, athletes from the host nations who were not in the `invited list', but roped in to swell the numbers, must have benefited from the exposure they received, though not many of them seemed to have come prepared. Despite the drawbacks, the AAA has stuck to its task to keep the circuit going.

This year, the performance levels have remained around the ordinary barring a few exceptions, mainly because the season is just beginning. For the Indian athletes this is actually the end of their first cycle this season that began with the Commonwealth Games preparations.

Bangalore saw considerable improvement over the previous leg at Bangkok, especially in the men's 400m hurdles and shot put. Meng Yan of China (49.03s) and P. Shankar of India (50.39s) clocked national records in the 400m hurdles event in Bangalore and they should resume battle, along with Kazakh Yevgeniy Melshenko, here on Friday when the third and last leg is gone through at the Baburao Sanas ground that sports a new synthetic track.

Dramatic improvement

Navpreet Singh, the Punjab shot putter, had performed dismally at Bangkok with an 18.61m getting him the silver behind Chinese Zhang Qi. Showing dramatic improvement, Navpreet putted 19.84 metres at Bangalore to outclass the field.

Zhang Qi is credited with a best of 20.15m, the national record he posted at Nanjing last October, but the 22-year-old Chinese has not shown the kind of form that could suggest a 20-metre putt in this circuit. Navpreet is aiming to cross the 20-metre barrier, his personal best being 19.93, achieved in Chennai in 2004.

All eyes on Anju

The focus will also be on Anju George, especially so since the long jump record holder, nursing an injured heel, managed only second place (6.35m) at Bangalore behind Kazakh Olga Rypakova.

Though Anju has taken the risk by coming here, husband-coach Bobby George feels that with a long break from competitions up to July when she is scheduled to compete in Stockholm and London, she should be back on course in her build-up towards the Asian Games in Doha. They also feel that when an event of this magnitude is held at home, it is their duty to pitch in.

Anju drew quite a crowd, including children, when she came in for a short work-out at the stadium on Thursday afternoon. Needless to say Indian athletics needs stars like Anju to gain attention.

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