India are expecting a rich haul from athletics at the Asian Games slated to begin in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18. It was the most productive discipline for the country at the last edition of the Games at Incheon with two gold, three silver and eight bronze medals. This time around there is genuine belief in the Indian camp that athletes will once again lead the charge and claim at least three golds besides a handful of top-three finishes.
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the new poster boy of Indian athletics, is the country's best bet for a gold medal. Neeraj, who became the first Indian to win a gold in his discipline at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year at Gold Coast, will be hoping to emulate the feat in Jakarta. The 20-year-old has been in fine form leading up to the Games and has booked his place in the Diamond League finals in Zurich which will follow the quadrennial showpiece. Neeraj leads the Asian mark this season with a best throw of 87.43m. Chinese Taipei’s Chao-Tsun Cheng, whose personal best of 91.36m, is the Asian record, will be Neeraj’s major rival in Jakarta.
The Nirmala quandary
India are eyeing gold medals in the women’s 4x400m relay and the newly-introduced 4x400m mixed team relay. However, the Athletics Federation of India is in a dilemma over the inclusion of Nirmala Sheoran in the relay team. The AFI is not keen on having non-campers in the relay team and the Haryana athlete was in hiding for many months. With world under-20 champion Hima Das in their ranks, the presence of Nirmala will definitely boost India’s chances. The ball is in AFI’s court and it will be interesting if Nirmala, who had evaded dope tests on several occasions of late, gets selected in order to enhance the country's chances of clinching possibly two gold medals.
Bahrain’s naturalised star Salwa Eid Naser - who broke the Asian record at the Monaco Diamond League - is the favourite to win the 400m gold.
Shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh and discus thrower Seema Punia too are serious contenders for the yellow metal.
Keralite hopefuls
Keralites Muhammed Anas (400m), Jinson Johnson (800m) and P U Chithra (1,500m) are expected to put up a fine show and do the country proud in their respective disciplines. Anas, who finished a creditable fourth at the Commonwealth Games with a national record (45.31 sec), bettered the mark with a timing of 45.24 sec at the Cena Noveho Mesta nad Metuji meet in the Czech Republic recently.
Jinson shattered Sriram’s Singh’s 42-year national record last month and the 27-year-old has been impressive to say the least. Chithra leads the pack in Asia and the Palakkad girl would be eager to prove a point after being overlooked for the World Championships in London last year.
Discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and triple jumper Arpinder Singh too could be among the medals.
Overall it promises to be a fruitful outing for the 52-member athletics contingent.
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