The race for gold

Thousands of participants from 45 countries are expected to compete in 39 events, spread over 15 venues, in the Asian Games beginning at Doha on December 1. M.S. Unnikrishnan looks at India’s chances of winning more medals than the last games at Busan

INDIA hope to break new ground in shooting, archery, boxing, chess and tennis to offset the expected shortfall of medals in athletics in the 15th Asian Games which begin at Doha on December 1. Chess (and triathlon) would be making their Asian Games debut, and India, with a three-member team comprising Hari Krishna, Sashi Kiran and Koneru Hampi are expected to fetch three medals in the mind game.

"We may win three medals but I am not sure of what hue," said treasurer of the All-India Chess Federation Bharat Singh Chauhan, who is also the secretary of the Delhi Chess Association.

Athletics has always been the milch cow for India in the Asian Games. But with the Athletics Federation of India(AFI) taking an uncompromising stand to keep out all dope-tainted athletes and those not making the qualifying cut (though it was another matter that the AFI had not clearly spelt out what exactly were the qualifying criteria) not more than 10 medals are expected from track and field events. The 387-member Indian contingent, cleared by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, which consists of around 260 athletes, would have to do exceptionally well to even equal, let alone improve, the country’s overall medals tally and standing at Busan.

Four years ago, at Busan, of the 35 medals won by India, 18, including seven gold and as many silver, came from track and field events. This was a commendable feat, as India’s total gold haul was just 11. In the overall medal standing, India were at the eighth position, behind toppers China, Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Chinese Taipei, and it will take quite an effort for the country to better that position at Doha.

Many of the Indian medal winners in athletics at Busan have given way for others. K.M. Beenamol, who won the gold in 800m and the silver in 400m, has quit athletics after marriage, while Neelam Jaswant Singh, who won the women’s discus gold, later got caught in a doping scandal. Ditto for men’s shot put gold medallist Bahadur Singh Sagoo. India will be fielding 48 athletes — 23 men and 25 women — in Doha, but AFI secretary Lalit Kumar Bhanot conceded that he was expecting only 10 medals.

"Though we have made the selection of athletes after repeated trials, we have pegged our hopes at a reasonable level. We are capable of winning more than 10 medals, but I am confident that our medal tally would not be less than 10, either," Bhanot added.

Bhanot pins hope on Manjit Kaur and Pinki Pramanik (400m), 4x400 women’s relay (S. Geeta, Chitra Soman, Manjit Kaur and Mandeep Kaur), 800m (Pinki Pramanik, Shanti or Sinimol Poulose), 1500m (Shanti and Sinimol), long jump (Anju Bobby George), men’s 4x400 (K.M.Binu, Bhupinder Singh, Srijit and P. Shankar), men’s shot put and discus throw (Vikas Gowda and Navpreet Singh), women’s discus and shot put (Seema Antil, Harwant Kaur and Krishna Punia), triple jump and long jump for men (Ranjit and Shiv Shankar, respectively), decathlon and heptathlon to hit medals.

Bhanot is cautiously optimistic. For example, Anju Bobby George, who won the long jump gold at Busan, appears determined to excel her own best jump of the season (6.53 metres). She may also anchor the 4x100m relay team, in which India expect a medal.

Either C.G Prameela or J.J Sobha may also compete in long jump. Sobha is also a medal aspirant in heptathlon, like Soma Biswas, who had got India the bronze and silver, respectively, in Busan. Anju had anchored the Tamil Nadu quartet to the gold in the inter-state meet in Chennai recently, which encouraged the federation to include her in the relay squad. Poonam Tomar, H.M. Jyoti, Deepthi Jose/V.D. Shailaja would be the other relay sprinters.

The ministry has given clearance for India to compete in 25 disciplines of the 32 submitted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The disciplines are archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing-kayaking, chess, billiards and snooker, golf, weightlifting, gymnastics, hockey (both men and women), judo, kabaddi, rowing, shooting, squash, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, wrestling, wushu and sailing.

Though India had won gold medals in athletics (7), snooker doubles (1), golf (1, Shiv Kapur), kabaddi and tennis doubles at Busan, the country may do well in some other disciplines like archery, boxing, chess, shooting and tennis in Doha.

Mansher Singh’s silver in trap and the women’s team silver in 10m air rifle were the only medals won by Indian shooters at Busan. But the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) expects the medal haul to go up substantially in Doha. The NRAI has packed the unusually large shooting contingent with some world-class shooters, including Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Commonwealth gold medallists Samresh Jung and Gagan Narang, Manavjit Sandhu, Mansher Singh, Anjali Bhagwat, Suma Shirur, Harveen Sarao, Deepali Deshpande and Avneet Kaur Sidhu. The NRAI would be fielding 25 male and eight female shooters and their chances are very bright. World champion Abhinav Bindra has opted out due to a persistent back trouble.

India had won six World Cup medals, including three gold, in recent months, but shooting in Doha will attract a world-class field as most of the top shooters in the world hail from Asia.

India can win more than one gold in tennis if Mahesh Bhupathi decides to play doubles with Leander Paes. Mahesh had announced his retirement when the All-India Tennis Federation decided to pair Leander and Sania Mirza for the mixed doubles. But Mahesh has been requested to reconsider his decision by none other than IOA President Suresh Kalmadi and he may relent.

If India field a full-strength team, including Leander, Mahesh, Sania, Shikha Uberoi et al, they can strike more than one gold in tennis which would be an improvement of the lone gold won by Leander and Mahesh in men’s doubles at Busan. Boxers and archers are looking forward to end their medal drought in the Asian Games. India have not won a medal in boxing since Dingko Singh’s bantam weight (54kg) gold at Bangkok, 1998. But after the Indian boxers did well in the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne (Australia), bagging one gold, two silver and as many bronze medals, the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) is confident that the boxers would make podium finish in at least in four weight categories.

IABF secretary-general Muralidharan Raja said Akhil Kumar (54kg), Vijender (75kg), Harpreet (heavy) and Johnson (super heavy) stood a good chance of winning medals.

The archers also pin their hopes of opening their account in Doha. "Our archers have been doing exceptionally well for the past three years, and we expect their good displays to be translated into medals at Doha," said Archery Association of India president Vijay Kumar Malhotra. India will field an eight-member archery team — four men (Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai, Vishwas and Mangal Singh) and as may women (Dola Banerjee, Reena Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuro and Punyaprabha)—and expect the men and women to do well in recurve.

AAI Secretary Anil Kameneni said the men were capable of winning medals in the individual as well as team events. Jayanta and Tarundeep have been on a roll in various competitions of late, and India’s confidence is borne of the fact that they had finished second in the Asian Archery Championship in Delhi last year, and topped the second Commonwealth Archery Championship at Jamshedpur recently, with five gold, two silver and one bronze.

India bagged three of the four golds in recurve, which is an encouraging signal as the archers set out do well in the Asiad.

India had always looked up to the hockey team to bring home the gold from the Asiad. But the hockey standard has gone down to such a dismal level that chief coach Vasudevan Baskaran has been given a last chance by Indian Hockey Federation President KPS Gill to perform or perish. India had finished 11th out 12 teams in the last World Cup in Germany, and Gill feels that there is no point in persisting with a flop coach. Instead, he would prefer former German coach Paul Lisek at the helm if Baskaran and his wards fail yet again. India beat Pakistan in the semifinal in Busan, yet ended up as runners-up. A hockey gold in Doha will surely give a boost to the game.

The Indian athletes would be put to a stiffest test at the magnificent Khalifa Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies would be held, besides athletics and some indoor events, as they need to win maximum medals for India’s bid to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2014 Asian Games in Delhi to be really justified.

War-torn Iran will return to the Asian Games fold, and Doha would be the first Arab country to play host to the Asiad after Iran conducted the games in Tehran way back in 1972.

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