After the national school games concluded at Kozhikode with much fanfare, we are left apprehensive about some lapses amidst many achievements.
Prominent among them are sprints and relay events. Taking the case of Kozhikode in isolation, we can easily agree that we came short of expectations in these items. However, I would not say that it was because of lack of skill, but the lack of deep analysis, thought and futuristic planning.
More than the number of medals won, the achievement of a sports meet should be exemplary performance and once performance becomes outstanding, we are free to strive for medals. If we think in such terms, we can save ourselves from regrets in future.
The obsession with speed training seems to be our undoing. Continuous speed training weakens child athletes and creates boredom in them. Speed training in excess at a young age can create a lot of problems as well. A champion is created only when a lot of faculties are developed together in an athlete. Body structure, speed, brain power, analysis etc need to work in tandem to create a champion. The ease with which an athlete achieves new heights produces grace and contributes to the beauty of the athlete’s performance. Free-flowing performance is the mark of excellence on the track, especially in sprints. A sprinter should be like a modern automobile floating on a beautifully paved road. To achieve that finesse, speed alone is not enough. An athlete needs to dedicate his or her mind and body to achieve that level through a kind of penance.
Athletic qualities are provided by nature and they have to be nurtured and encouraged. They do not tick if hastily prepared; a long list of athletes is an unfortunate example.
Explosive energy is the quality of short-distance sports events, which is also the characteristic of long jumps. Our students proved that they are not lacking in that energy at Kozhikode. It is therefore quite logical that long jumpers are good sprinters too, examples being Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, T.C. Yohannan and Mercy Kuttan. If that is the case, our students should have excelled in sprint items as well.
Excuses about physical height do not explain how Armin Hary, a German who was 5.5 feet tall, made fame as an Olympic sprint champion. The reason why we have dropped back is therefore only that out training is lacking.
If we fail in sprint, the failure would cascade into relay events too. Conversely just because we have good sprinters, we cannot make a good relay team. A good relay team needs to have coordination between four athletes.
The failure in sprint is the secret behind our achievements in 800m and 1500m events because those who lack in speed would slowly shift to long distance events. When they win, they continue, cementing their position in those events.
Events would come and go. More than focussing on the medal tally, we need to spend some time for analysis and thought.
(The author is a former sports trainer at Calicut University)