Jakarta: It was a redemption act for Arpinder Singh at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here on Wednesday. The triple jumper had promised a lot when he set a national record of 17.17m way back in 2014.
He followed it up with a bronze-medal at Glasgow Commonwealth Games the same year. But then, a training stint under English coach John Herbert, a former CWG champion, in London, did not produce the desired results. And his form dipped.
Arpinder failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, while the seasoned Renjith Maheswary reclaimed the national record (17.30m).
This year has been much better for the 25-year-old Arpinder, who has been training at the Sports Authority of India’s National Athletics Academy (Jumps) at the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE) in Thiruvananthapuram under Romanian coach Bedros Bedrosian and SAI coach P B Jayakumar.
He ended up fourth at the Gold Coast CWG and crossed the 17m mark with a jump of 17.09 at the senior nationals in Guwahati.
That effort helped him qualify for the Asian Games. On Wednesday, Arpinder landed the continental title with an effort of 16.77m.
“I was keen on breaking the national record as I had prepared well, but I am happy that I could win the gold. The conditions were tough. After the first three jumps, I got dehydrated and hence I did not attempt the last two jumps,” said Arpinder.
Arpinder took to athletics at the insistence of his dad, an Army man. “He wanted me to do well in sports. At first I tried sprints and then long jump before I switched to triple jump,” said Arpinder, who hails from Sonipat in Haryana.
Arpinder also took the opportunity to thank coach Jayakumar for all the help provided to him at the LNCPE.
The Asian Games gold could well be the springboard to Arpinder to reap more success.
