Renjith Maheswary had an asterix against his name among the Indians competing at the Asian Grand Prix 2010. A former Asian GP winner in men's triple jump, he headed the Asian Athletics Association top 10 rankings among entries for the first leg and was expected to finish on the podium, despite variables in an event like triple jump with emphasis on technique and rhythm. He won on the sixth jump, leaping farther than Wu Bo and taking a head start over competitors from China and Kazakhstan with two legs to go.
A sudden downpour at the Balewadi sports complex drenched the approach area and the sand in the pit, increasing the degree of difficulty for the triple jumpers.
“In these conditions, 16m is okay,” said the Indian, taking the gold in 16.84m, below the season's best of 16.97.
When the event was over and others packed up, he walked alone into the pit, picked up a pinch of wet sand, touched his fingers to the forehead as the sand trickled down from his hands.
Asked whether the act was one of his post-event routines, Renjith said: “I was just praying, nothing else.”
In keeping with the trend with jumpers feeding off encouragement from the crowds and buzz in the stands for international competitions, he clapped and gestured to fans all around to pick up the rhythm so that the noise from everywhere rising to a crescendo would lift his spirits.
Only a handful of supporters in the near stands responded, forcing the Indian to clap for himself. “I had to motivate myself. These things happen and you have to find your own way.”
The 100m dash was on at the opposite end and fans seated in the pavilion were feasting on the sprinters running down the clock.
Renjith blazed his own trail from the time he struck triple jump gold in the 2007 Asian GP, so the silence from the stands at Balewadi and wet conditions all around were the only hurdles to be cleared on the way to reaching the top of the heap.
“I don't keep track of others. My focus is to get close to the target of 17.50 set for myself,” said the triple jump leader on the AAA list for the 2010 GP series.
His personal best of 17.04 is below the Asian GP record (17.07 by Kazakhstan's Yevgeniy Ektov in 2008) and Asian record (17.59 by China's Li Yanxi in 2009) but ambition knows no barriers.
Renjith suffered a dip in form last year due to an ankle injury, 2010 is a year of consolidation. “I trained in Thailand with a group of jumpers for two weeks. The next stop is Italy for training-cum-competition tours over 45 days with four other Indian jumpers,” said the Pune leg winner, appreciative of the federation's support in keeping with two majors slotted for 2010 — Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Employed with Western Railway and posted in Mumbai, the Kerala athlete spends a big chunk of his time each year at NIS, Patiala.
He is comfortable with questions in Hindi and time spent in Patiala will help him in the company of Amarjeet Singh, Ankit Sharma, Maha Singh and Hari Krishnan, all jumpers sharing a special bond.
He hopes for more encouragement from fans in Bangalore and Chennai, compared to the wet Pune. Clapping with him at the run-up and applauding for him on the podium.
