“Please be patient,” advised coach Dr. Nikolai Snesarev before leading a batch of seven endurance runners — Preeja Sreedharan, O.P. Jaisha, Sudha Singh, Lalita Babbar, Sushma Devi, Suresh Kumar Patel and Rahul Kumar Pal — to the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.
Fielding questions about his expectation from these athletes, Snesarev remained positive even though non-committal. He pointed out that the athletes trained on grass at Ooty for six months and returned good performances in hot and humid conditions of Lucknow (National inter-State meet in May) and Patiala (Federation Cup in August).
“You will know (about their performances) after three weeks,” said Snesarev prior to departure on Thursday.
“During my previous tenure I had spent almost five years in preparation for the 2010 Asiad. This time, I did not have that luxury but we have made the best utilisation of the camp. We received help from several quarters, including the common people who helped the campers at Ooty,” he added.
