He was the biggest hope to qualify for the World Championships from the 59th Inter-State athletics meet here but triple jumper Arpinder Singh fell short of the mark by 12 centimetres, a combination of factors not helping his cause.
Arpinder still managed 16.83 metres — his best this season and 4th best overall — but it wasn’t enough for Doha (16.95m).
“It is disappointing. The hot, humid weather was not ideal but I was prepared for it. I was not prepared for seven jumps, though,” he admitted.
Karthik wins
Karnataka’s Karthik U was the surprise runner-up with a massive 16.80m jump, followed by Mohd. Salahuddin, who managed 16.79m for his personal best.
The seven jumps were courtesy a goof-up by the technical officials during the event who abruptly changed the order of participation for the final round. Initially the last participant to complete a round, Arpinder was asked to be the first to complete his sixth and final jump.
“I kept telling them I was to go last but they refused to listen. I had no time to even consult my coaches,” Arpinder shrugged.
His final jump went for 16.80m before his coaches — Antony Yaich of JSW and National coach Bibhu Mathews — confronted the officials who accepted their mistake and cancelled the jump allowing him to go again. By then, though, he was completely drained.
Emergency meeting
The AFI, meanwhile, held an emergency meeting late in the evening and decided to take strict action against the erring officials.
Nupur, the technical official responsible for the goof-up has been suspended for one year from all meets by the AFI’s technical committee that met to decide on the issue under the chairmanship of Ravinder Chaudhary.
After a long period of constantly changing coaches and training style, Arpinder has been training at JSW’s Inspire Institute of Sports for the past four months and the difference was visible in both his technique and physique.
“I have lost a lot of weight without losing any strength, which has helped with the speed as well. Also, I now go all out right from the starting line instead of gradually building pace before take-off. There are a few other chances but it’s only been four months so things will take time to work out,” he explained.
Yaich, on his part, admitted Arpinder’s technique was not what had been planned or worked upon. “But he is a very quick learner. The problem is sometimes the start is not right, sometimes the technique and sometimes the final take-off. It’s like pieces of a puzzle. The day all of them come together, he will be at a different level,” Yaich promised. He now has the final Grand Prix, in Delhi on September 5, to get the mark.
Ordinary display
It was also the only event where the medallists pushed each other to give their best on a day that saw another round of ordinary performances and below-par achievements.
Dharun Ayyasamy and Mohan Raja, the two federation entries in the 400m, had ordinary outings. The only other high point was Iranian Mahdi Pirjahan clocking 49.33s in the 400m hurdles, narrowly missing the Worlds mark (49.00) but managing to set a new meet record.
The results:
Men: 200m: Nithin (TN, 20.91s), 2. Akshay Nain (Del, 21.39), 3. Abhinav Panwar (Del, 21.47); 400m: 1. Alex Antony (46.17), 2. Harsh Singh (Har, 46.64), 3. Sachin Roby (Kar, 46.96); 800m: 1. Mohammed P (Ker, 1:48.35), 2. Mujamil Ameer (TN, 1:49.03), 3. Ankit (Har, 1:49.95); 400m hurdles: 1. Mahdi Pirjahan (Iri, 49.33), 2. Jagdeesh Chandra (Kar, 50.85), 3. Jithin Paul (Ker, 15.92); Triple jump: 1. Arpinder Singh (Pun, 16.83m), 2. Karthik U (Kar, 16.80), 3. Md. Salahuddin (TN, 16.79); Shot put: 1. Inderjeet Singh (Har, 19.73), 2. Jasdeep Dhillon (Pun, 17.77), 3. Shakti Rathore (Raj, 17.20); 20km walk: 1. Sandeep Kumar (Har, 1:27:25.47s), 2. Irfan KT (Ker, 1:28:20.94), 3. Chandan Singh (Utk, 1:28:21.29).
Women: 800m: 1. Chitra Unnikrishnan (Ker, 2:02.96s), 2. Jessy Joseph (Ker, 2:07.09), 3. Pramila Yadav (UP, 2:07.62); 400m hurdles: 1. Arpitha Manjunatha (Kar, 59.98), 2. Aarthi (TN, 1:00.48), 3. Dhivya J (TN, 1:01.06); Long jump: 1. Nayana James (TN, 6:20m), 2. Priyanka Kerketta (Jha, 6.13m), 3. Harshini Saravanan (TN, 6.07m) .
