Alappuzha girl gives up chance to soar higher to clear a golden hurdle

Sport requires making hard calls, like Anamika Ajesh did at the Kerala State School Sports & Games in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The Class 10 student of DV HSS, Charamangalam, in the Alappuzha district chose to forfeit the High Jump qualification despite knowing she stood a good chance to stand on the podium.

Instead, the 15-year-old ran the final of the Junior Girls 100 metre hurdles. It wasn't much of a choice in the end because Anamika finished a dominant first in the sprint, clocking 14.52 seconds, leaving Jayalakshmi J of VMHS Vadavannur, Palakkad, a distant second at 15.28.

The High Jump qualifiers began at 4.15 pm at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium. The hurdles final was announced for 5.20 pm. It was touch and go, and Anamika sought the counsel of her coach, Samjee K R, who knew the risks of competing in back-to-back events in the cold conditions brought about by incessant rain in the state capital.

"The hurdles was sure gold and we couldn't risk it," Samjee said after the final. There appeared a glimmer of hope when someone suggested the organisers might agree to let Anamika try a jump or two and see if she makes the cut-off for qualification. 

"Sir is making some calls. They were saying maybe I can jump alone and qualify," Anamika said while Samjee spoke to some technical committee officials. But they didn't budge; the qualifiers were done and Anamika wasn't going to get a special chance. 

Samjee came back and pretended to act as if these things were normal, but when Anamika was not close by, the coach grimaced. "I am actually sad, but those are the rules. She did 1.57 (metres) in the heptathlon, so she would have easily qualified. But we must accept and move on," Samjee consoled his young trainee with a gentle arm around her shoulder that made her smile confidently.

The best qualifier in High Jump did so with an effortless 1.38 metres, which was routine for Anamika.

Samjee, a Kerala State Sports Council coach, trains Anamika in both hurdles and High Jump because the two events complement each other, like long jump and a 100-metre dash. The coach is confident Anamika will emerge as a fine hurdler if she remains focused, and also by having the courage to tackle a few hurdles on the way to success.