Asian Games 2018: Indian athletics gives bright portends ahead of sterner tests

Bengaluru, September 4: The fans of Indian athletics from the 80s and 90s will remember the time when their hopes of an international medal revolved around a handful of names - PT Usha, Shiny Wilson, Rosakutty, MD Valsamma, Mercy Kuttan or Ashwini Nachappa.

But even with those worthy names around, India were never really considered a power to be reckoned with in the international arena dominated by athletes from USA, Russia, other European countries and China more recently.

But the 2018 Asian Games which concluded in Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang, on Sunday (September 2) has offered us some bright portends - an Olympic medal in track and field events might not be that far. Usha came closest in the 1984 Los Angeles Games missing the bronze by a whisker and since then it remained the Holy Grail.

And India's biggest hope is Neeraj Chopra, the 20-year-old javelin throw athlete. Neeraj decimated the Asian Games field with a throw of 88.06, a distance that could have won him a bronze at the Rio Olympics. This is the first time he crossed the 88M-mark in his career and a lot more can be expected of him in the days to come. His previous best was 87.43 distance achieved during the Doha Diamond League earlier this year. Tokyo Olympics is still two years away, but India now have a genuine medal contender.

When it comes to middle distance running (800 and 1,500), India and the other Asian countries are generally way off from the international standard often set by a plethora of African athletes. But in Jakarta, Manjit Singh (800M gold at 1:46:15) outshone the field that included compatriot Jinson Johnson.

Johnson put behind the disappointment in 800M to grab gold in 1,500M stopping the clock at 3.44.72. Gold in triple jump (Arpinder Singh: 16.77 his fourth career best jump), shot put (Tejinder Pal Singh Toor: 20.75) and heptathlon (Swapna Barman - 6026 points, her personal best yet as well) were a bit surprising but those medals augur well for Indian athletics that over the years struggled on several counts including dope issues.

There were disappointments too but athletics contributed seven gold medals to India's tally of 15 in this edition of the Asian Games along with 10 silver and 2 bronze. It has been a massive improvement from the Incheon Games 2014 where they won just two gold medals. The overall tally of 19 medals from athletics is also the second best medal count since the inaugural 1951 edition in New Delhi where India bagged 31 medals including 10 gold.

And the gold tally of seven in Jakarta is also the third best for India after their athletes bagged eight of them in the 1978 Bangkok Games. In the Busan Games too they had captured seven medals. The finest part of the Jakarta achievement is the diverse sections of events from which the medals came from and several of them were not even considered as medal prospects.

Though she has not won the gold, Hima Das is a wonderful talent needed to be wrapped in wool as she has just started her journey in the senior world. Hima produced a national record in the 400m, a scarcely believable 50.79s. She cut 4.78 seconds from her previous best in 400m in less than a year - from 55.57 seconds recorded in September 2017.

So, the achievement in the sphere of athletics alone has been staggering and if it guides India to that long-cherished dream - a true multi-sports nation - then it will glow more.