Quality over numbers is India chief coach Bahadur Singh’s line of thinking. “If we are chasing medals only at Asian Athletics, it is not good. My focus is to see that our athletes produce their career best performances, if that is good enough for a medal, then nobody can stop us from winning a medal (gold, silver or bronze),” said the former Asian shot put champion.
He agreed that India’s leading athletes must train abroad instead of slogging at national camps. He felt more athletes should be sent abroad to train in events which are India’s strengths. “People who are sent abroad are of a high level. Our top athletes need more competition to push them since it cannot happen in India once a particular level is reached.” Bahadur added: “When I was appointed national coach, my focus was on women athletes. Our women are strong, dedicated and have higher chance of succeeding than men. We can make the most of the situation by giving training and international exposure for them.”
