The ratification of Om Prakash Singh's latest National record of 20.69m in shot put could run into trouble as and when it is taken up by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
The doubts have arisen over the very nature of the meet and questions could be raised as to what could be considered as legitimate ‘competition' for the purpose of ratification.
Official results of the meet in Szombathely, Hungary, last Saturday, obtained on Monday, show that in what was supposed to be an ‘international meet', Om Prakash was the lone contestant in men's shot put, using the standard implement of 7.26kg shot.
The others, all juniors, competed in their respective age groups, even if the competitions might have been held concurrently.
There were three boys using the 5kg shot (under-18 group), three using 4kg (under-16) and two using 3kg (under-14). Om Prakash was the only foreign athlete in this all-throwing-event meet at Szombathely, which no longer has an Accredited Training Centre (ATC) of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
IAAF rules
According to the rules of the IAAF there should be at least three competitors in individual events and two teams for relays for the purpose of world record ratification.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) normally follows the IAAF rules and procedures if nothing is specifically stated in its rules.
It had also decided in the year 2000 to accept only such records where the record-setter was dope-tested.
It is not known whether the AFI had strictly applied the dope-testing stipulation for all records that had been ratified since then.
At least four records that were better than the National records, all set at the domestic circuit meet in Bangalore on July 5, 2000, were not ratified because of this drawback.
They were the Asian record of 20.60m by Shakti Singh in shot put, and National record-bettering marks by Anil Kumar in 100m (10.21s) and Rachita Mistry in 100m (11.26s) and Vinita Tripathi in 200m (23.04s) in the women's section.
(Shakti's 20.42m recorded later in the same month in Chennai was, however, ratified.).
Around the globe, in many statistical compilations, these marks have, however, been considered as legitimate.
Interpretation
The interpretation of the definition for a ‘competition', however, could be debatable.
The AFI Technical Committee chairman, P.K. Srivastava, said on Monday that a throwing competition with different weight implements for different age groups, held together, could not be considered as a bona fide “competition.”
Heinrich Hubbeling, co-author with fellow German Winfried Kramer, who brings out the yearly compilation of national records for all countries for IAAF statistical publications, explained last August, in relation to another query, that they followed the IAAF rule regarding three athletes constituting a competition in an individual event while considering records.
For personal bests and season bests, however, this stipulation was not applied, he stated.
Hubbeling is also the author of Asian rankings , a yearly publication that ranks Asian athletes.
Interestingly, the IAAF ‘Top Lists' for the season, available on its website, also do not differentiate between a ‘competition' as defined in the world-record-ratification rules and such events where there may not be the mandatory complement of three athletes in a particular contest.
