Packed in an unfair world that is heavy with glamorous stars in sprints and jumps, the throws are often given the short shrift by spectators in athletics competitions.
But you should be watching the men’s discus throw event at the 21st Asian athletics championships, which begin in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Wednesday, very closely.
For it pits Vikas Gowda, the country’s lone world class athlete, against Iran’s Olympic silver medallist Ehsan Hadadi in what could be a very interesting duel.
Gowda, the favouriteThe 31-year-old Indian, the World No. 5, is enjoying one of the best phases of his career and is the leading Asian this year. A victory, with a 65.75m effort, in the Triton Invitational in San Diego and two other over-65m efforts in Chula Vista (US) and in Kingston (Jamaica) along with the two IAAF Diamond League bronze medals in Shanghai and Eugene, makes the Mysuru-born, US-trained Commonwealth Games champion the big favourite to retain the Asian gold.
Hadadi, who has a personal best of 69.32m which came in 2008, is nowhere near that form this season and has a best of just of 61.67m which came in the recent Eugene Diamond League.
That has pushed him to the 55th rung in the World performance list this year while Gowda is in eighth.
But don’t count Hadadi out. For the Iranian, the Asian record holder and former World junior champion, has a reputation for lying low and coming good when it matters the most.
Hadadi had a few health issues last year but still came back strongly to beat Gowda for the Asian Games gold in Incheon and complete a hat-trick of Asiad titles. Gowda, it must be said here, was hampered with a shoulder injury in Incheon but soldiered on to take the silver.
Gowda has had a hectic season while World No. 8 Hadadi, having competed in fewer meets, could be fresher than the Indian.
Inderjeet Singh, the Asian leader and Asian Games bronze medallist, is a favourite to strike the men’s shot put gold on Wednesday to match his stunning performances in the event in the last couple of years. His personal best 20.65m, which came in last month’s Federation Cup in Mangaluru, puts the World University Games silver medallist in the 18th spot in the world list this year.
High on confidenceKerala middle distance runner Tintu Luka, who had frequently choked in major competitions, came out as a much more confident girl while winning the Asian Games 800m silver last year.
With the Asiad champion Margarita Mukasheva missing from the entry list, national record holder Tintu, who has a personal best 1:59.17s and is ranked 28th in the world, can breathe easy.
But the host’s Zhao Jing, who won the Asiad bronze behind Tintu with a personal best 1:59.48s in Incheon, is capable of making the Indian sweat despite opening the season with a mediocre 2:05.18s in the recent Shanghai Diamond League where she finished ninth.
Tintu will also be in action in the women’s 4x400m relay where India is a favourite to take the gold.
With the Asian winner assured of a World championship berth and with the qualification gates for next year’s Rio Olympics now open, the athletes have enough incentive to raise the bar at Wuhan.
Talking of the bar, Qatar’s World leader Mutaz Essa Barshim (personal best 2.43m), who is just three centimetres away from breaking Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s 21-year-old world record (2.45m), is the big favourite for the high jump gold.
With his younger brother Muamer also in the fray, it could be a bit of a family affair there. Mutaz Barshim’s presence could also inspire China’s fast improving Zhang Guowei who won the silver in the recent Eugene Diamond League with 2.38m and jumped over Ukraine’s World champion Bohdan Bondarenko as the second best jumper in the world this year.
The missing menChina’s Asian champion Su Bingtian, who became the first Asian-born sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m the other day at Eugene, is a prominent name missing from the championship.
However, Qatar’s Nigeria-born Asian record-holder Femi Ogunode and Samuel Francis, who brought the Asian record under 10s for the first time in 2007, make it a quality event.
Their presence could also spur China’s Zhang Peimeng, the World championship semifinalist, to go below 10s, now that his compatriot Bingtian has removed the mental barrier.
Also missing is Chinese long jumper Li Jinzhe who produced a personal best 8.47m which placed him among the world’s best last year.
From the Indian angle, there could be a hot contest between the two eight-metre jumpers K. Premkumar and Ankit Sharma.
Former Asian champion Mayookha Johny, who is slowly making a comeback after a disappointing year, will be in action in the long jump final on Wednesday. A good show will boost her confidence in a big way.
The run-up to the Asian championships had been loaded with one controversy after another.
Will the results bring the smile back in Indian athletics?
