Date:12/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/12/stories/2006081212712000.htm

Sport - Athletics

Focus on Sourabh Vij

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: India will field an 11-member team in the World junior athletics championships to be held in Beijing from Aug. 15 to 20.

Though the Indian focus will be on shot putter Sourabh Vij, who heads the season's world lists with his 20.35m feat in Chennai in June, the Chief Coach of the team, Suresh Babu, said on Friday there was "no guarantee for a medal".

If Vij was able to repeat his 20m-plus performance then he could be in with a chance for a medal, the coach said.

The qualification round in shot put will be on Aug. 18 and the final the next day. Vij had taken the silver at the Asian championships in Macau last month with a performance of 19.62m.

India has had just one medal from the World junior championships, the bronze by woman discus thrower Seema Antil in 2002. She had won the gold in the previous edition only to be stripped of the title following a positive dope test.

Suresh Babu felt that 800m runner Sajeesh Joseph stood the best chance of progressing into the second round from among the track athletes. He said the Kerala athlete had been shaping up well in the camp and was capable of a sub-1:50 performance. Joseph as well as the women's 800m runner Jhuma Khatun will figure in the heats on the opening day when the 400m heats in both sections will also be gone through.

The team: Men: Virender Kumar Pankaj and V.B. Bineesh (400m); Sajeesh Joseph (800m); Sourabh Vij and Om Prakash (shot put).

Women: M.R. Povamma (400m, 4x400m relay); Jhuma Khatun (800m); Sini Jose, Anu Mariam Jose, Priyanka Pawar and A.C. Ashwani (4x400m relay).