Common Wealth games: The Number Game (Athletics)

One thing good about Athletics is that numbers do tell a part of the story and surely present a good picture to look up to.

Athletes across our country have toiled hard for past few months up to the the National Inter State Athletembedics Championships, which were recently held in Patiala, to earn a coveted place in Indian team.

As the team for Athletics has now been announced by the AFI – Athletics Federation of India, lets have a look at our performances in numbers which gives us a decent picture of where we stand with respect to the upcoming Common Wealth Games in Delhi.

To appreciate the numbers let’s hold CWG Melbourne 2006 podium finishing line as our reference point across twenty events under the banner of Track, Jump and Throw!

4 x 100 m Relay Finals for 2006 Commonwealth games

110m Hurdle Finals for 2006 Melbourne Games

The Track

Records Table

Comparing the National Records against the Melbourne’s Bronze performances we stand a chance of three podium finishes in the Men’s

800m, 1500m and 3000m category. The Women’s National Records are much more rewarding. Seven out of twelve records give us medals in 100m, 200m, 400m, 1500m, 300 m, 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay! Come Patiala ’10 and we get the real picture. The middle distance events of 800m and 1500m in Men’s are the only events in which numbers are on our side with respect to Melbourne. But none of the performances in Women’s Category in Patiala would have earned us even a bronze 4 years ago in Track! The 800m and 1500m National Record in Men’s Category were set in 1976 and 1995 by SriRam Singh and Bahadur Prasad respectively. The current Indian Team selections in 800m consists of Pankaj Dimri, Francis Sagayaraj and Manajit Singh who were the Top 3 Finishers in Patiala out of which only Pankaj Dimri fits in for a podium finish. In the other middle distance event, that’s the 1500 m, Haryana’s Sandeep produced a brilliant 3.43.39 in Patiala, which would have earned him a silver in the last CWG edition. But again considering that Kenya’s Silas Kiplagat recorded a time of 3.29.27 at Monaco Grand Prix earlier in July, Sandeep is far behind. As a note, the World Record for 1500m stands at a staggering 3.26.00 by Moroccon Hicham El Guerrouj! A special mention to the Silver Medal winning Indian Women’s 4x400m Relay Team. Rajwinder Kaur, Chitra Soman, Manjeet Kaur and Pinki Pramanik who broke 3 minutes and 30 seconds barrier in Melbourne. With Chitra Soman and Manjeet Kaur still around we can hope they inspire the Relay Team to surpass many more such barriers!

Throw and Jump

Throw and Jump events are only a step better of from our Track event performances. Five out of Eight National Record breaking performances would have earned us podium finishes in both , Men’s and Women’s four years ago. In Patiala we have managed decent stats with Shot Put in Men’s category and Discuss Throw and Triple Jump in the Women’s section. The Indian Shot Put Men’s team consists of Om Prakash Singh Basani and Sourav Vij. Both had managed performances close to the 20m mark which are even better than the Gold winning performances in Melbourne. It would be surprising if we dont bag a medal this time around in Shot Put. In the Women’s Discuss Throw event, Seema Antil won us a silver in Melbourne. Seema along with Harwant Kaur and Krishna Punia form a strong 3 member Indian Team. Harwant Kaur and Krishna Punia managed to clear the 60m mark in Patiala. Mayookha Johny‘s 13.68m National Record Breaking Triple Jump at Patiala also should be in contention for a podium finish in Delhi.

The 15% formula

The table above has an additional column . ’15% more…’ . This column provides us with performance numbers which are 15% more than what we managed in Patiala. The 15% value showcases astonishing facts – We manage to surpass CWG Mel ’06 on Seven and Six occasions in Mens and Women’s categories! That’s a huge difference with respect to the medals we can win with this 15% more ‘effort’

But how do we and our athletes in particular manage to overcome this delta? The answer lies within ‘us’. Let us all divide this extra effort.

5% – The Athletes can for sure provide better results than in Patiala by their passion of representing India and the sheer magnitude of the event that they are going to participate in, that’s the CWG.

5% – The PIPs, the people in power, which include Administrators and the Govt. can provide apt environment and boost the athletes by providing cash incentives and facilities.

5% – You and Me, by providing the much needed motivation in terms of appreciating the Athletes and their effort so that they feel proud of showcasing their talents at the JN Stadium come October! I have already booked tickets for CWG Athletic Events, have you?