Is the next Usain Bolt from India?

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Is the next Usain Bolt from India? image

Will India ever produce an athlete like Usain Bolt? Originally answered on Aug. 24.

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Answer by Aaron Ellis, track coach

Usain Bolt is the product of being the right athletic specimen competing in the right sport in the right place at the right time. He is from a country where his event (sprints) is appreciated and fully funded, and his talent has been nurtured by the right coaches. His fellow Jamaican sprinters provide good competition, support, and training partners. This combination of factors is what makes him what he is. Jamaica funnels its athletes into the sprints – its national specialty – and thus has tremendous depth in the event, from which an athlete like Bolt can emerge.

India has occasionally shown depth in certain events in track and field, particularly on the women’s side.
  • In the early '80s there were several great Indian women in the 400-800 range, including P. T. Usha (Olympic Finalist – 400mH), Shiny Abraham (Olympic Finalist – 4X400), and Mercy Alapurackal (Olympic Finalist – 4X400).
  • There have been some good heptathletes in recent years, peaking in 2008 with Pramila Aiyappa, JJ Shobha and Susmita Singha Roy.

But every time there are Indian athletes who collectively make good progress and help to build a foundation for future track athletes, things fall apart and their gains are lost. In other words, India has talent, and occasionally even depth, but lacks consistency. It’s simply not enough to be good in an event in one or two Olympiads. It’s important to be consistently good in an event over the long term, similar to the Indian field hockey teams before 1984.

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At the moment, India has two areas in track with lots of depth and are showing consistency. The progress these athletes have made has been the most promising in many years.

Throws

The 2008 Beijing Olympics featured three Indian competitors in discus. On the men’s side was Vikas Gowda. On the women’s side was Harwant Kaur and Krishna Poonia. None of them performed particularly well, with the top finisher being Gowda at 22nd place. However, in the 2012 Olympics, Indian throwers made massive improvements, and overall had a great showing. Vikas Gowda qualified for the men’s discus final in the fifth spot. He finished 8th overall. On the women’s side, Krishna Poonia also made the final and finished 6th overall. Seema Poonia narrowly missed the final as she fell short of the qualifying standard by half a meter. Still, she finished 13th overall in the qualifying round (from which the top 12 advanced). For India to advance from outliers in the previous Olympics to having two top 15 finishers in 2008 is a great sign
 
Beyond discus, there have also been some good Indian throwers in the hammer, javelin and shot put events, such as Annu Rani, Inderjeet Singh, and Manju Bala, all of whom made it onto the medal stand at the 2014 Asian Games. 

Distance

National success in distance events is usually the product of having a national running culture, so depth in this area is critical. India had three qualifiers in the Men’s 20km Racewalk in the 2012 Olympics: Irfan Kolothum Thodi, Gurmeet Singh, and Baljinder Singh all competed, and Thodi finished in the top 10. Basanta Bahadur Rana qualified in the 50km racewalk. This year in the 2015 World Championships, India qualified a whopping 7 athletes in the racewalk events, with two on the women’s side and five on the men’s side. That is impressive by all standards.

Beyond the racewalk, India has two up and coming steeplechasers. Naveen Kumar and Lalita Babar both medaled at last years Asian Games. Babar just broke the Indian national record in the steeplechase and is among the top steeplers in the world. Sudha Singh is also a decorated steepler for India.
 
Right now, India has the athletes to establish good throws and distance programs with niches in the discus, the racewalk and the steeplechase. But the important thing is to continue building. It's not enough to simply get a few athletes who will compete well in the Rio Olympics. It's important to be looking to 2020, 2024, and beyond. Long term consistency as a group will lead to better and better athletes in future sports generations. So while I don't see the next Usain Bolt coming from India, it's entirely possible that the next Ezekial Kemboi, Sandra Perkovic, or Olga Kaniskina will.

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