Asian Games: Indian hopes soar with high-altitude training
For the first time in India's sporting history, athletes of the country are in a practice session in a high-altitude practice centre in a foreign nation — ahead of the Asian Games.
For the first time in India's sporting history, athletes of the country are in a practice session in a high-altitude practice centre in a foreign nation — ahead of the Asian Games.
For the first time in India's sporting history, athletes of the country are in a practice session in a high-altitude practice centre in a foreign nation — ahead of the Asian Games.
The higher you scale altitudes, it’s not just the tea you drink that becomes stronger. The fight also surges in spirit. That’s why middle and long distance runners striving to shine better seek to choose places that are much above the sea level. Technically, they are called high-altitude practice centres.
As for India, for the first time in its sporting history, athletes of the country are in a practice session in a high-altitude practice centre in a foreign nation — ahead of the Asian Games next month. The Himalayan nation of Bhutan is their venue in the run-up to the continent’s biggest sporting event, the newest chapter of which slated to be held in Indonesia’s Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.
Higher and higher
The Indian runners competing in the middle and long distance events at the 16-day Asiad are busy practising on the synthetic tracks of Bhutanese capital Thimphu. The camp, around 2,500 metres above the sea level, is a continuation to the practice they got from high-altitude venues back in their own country: at Ooty (2,240 metres) in Tamil Nadu and Dharamshala (1,457 metres) in Himachal Pradesh.
So, why Thimphu? One, it’s a country adjacent to India; thus wouldn’t require a long travel for the athletes. Two, it’s a low-cost city.
In fact, quite a few of the Indian athletes have been in Thimphu for a while now. They had been in the city even before last month’s National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship. Many of them actually returned to Thimphu after the Guwahati meet. In short, after the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia held in April, the whole of Indian contingent’s middle and long distance runners are now together in Bhutan.
Disciplined preparation
The Indian runners are aiming at nothing short of gold at the upcoming 58th Asian Games, where 45 nations are participating in 40 sports. The chief trainers are J S Bhatia, Surinder Singh, Vijender Singh and K Amarish. The athletes, including top contenders like L Surya, G Lakshmanan (10,000 and 5,000m), Sudha Singh, Sanjivani Jadhav (steeplechase), Manjit Singh and Monica Choudhary (800m), are busy honing their skills at sessions held in mornings and evenings. On weekends, they would start a bit early to go for long runs (15 km). One half of the day is free during Wednesdays and Sundays.
Malayali Contingent
At the Thimphu camp are star athletes from Kerala: Jinson Johnson, 27, who broke a four-decade-old national record in 800 metres; and P U Chithra, 23, who won the gold at the Asian Athletics Championship in Bhubaneswar last year.
Both are training under veteran Bhatia, a Dronacharya awardee. Eugene Antony of Thiruvananthapuram is the masseur.
Advantage in altitudes
Regions higher from the sea level have less oxygen, making it tough for human beings to breathe well. The body seeks to offset this handicap by ensuring that the kidney pumps in erythropoietin which stimulates red blood cell production in the bone marrow. This would facilitate increased rush of oxygen to the muscles, adding to the efficiency of athletes — more so those into middle and long distance run. Hence the idea of taking them to high-altitude regions for intensive training.