Future tense for Bengal athletics

Kolkata, Sep 5 (UNI) After last two decades of blazing away in athletics, future looks bleak for West Bengal with the recently concluded state athletics not holding out any promise.

Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach Kuntal Roy, who boasts of preparing athletes like Soma Biswas, Sushmita Singh Roy and Saraswati Saha, looked despondent at the 57th State Athletic Championship, that concluded recently.

Talking to UNI, Roy said, ''For the last two decades West Bengal has produced athletes who have excelled in the international arena.

Be it Jyotirmoyee Sikdar or Soma Biswas or Susmita Singha Roy. The last decade Bengal flourished in athletics with the girls leading the way.'' ''But that may come to an end soon. I have not spotted any exceptional talent during this meet. There are success stories like Jhuma Khatun. But she has not improved from where she started three years back,'' he lamented.

''In the men's category Harishankar Rai cannot be called a prospect. He is already a name. We had atheletes like Amit Saha and Sanjay Ghosh. Sanjay still holds the national record in sprinting.

But this time we see none to fill in their shoes,'' he said.

''For success in the international scene we need athletes with lanky body features. Long lower limbs and a pencil thin structure is an important ingredient to match with the athletes abroad. But with the current crop of athletes height is a big problem,'' he said.

''They are stocky, with short limbs and sometimes bit too flabby.

It's a genetic problem. This cannot be the physique for success,'' he said.

Asked if he could spot some talent, he said, Pinky Pramanik in sprints and Juma Khatun in middle distance are two athletes to watch out. But in the jumping events and throwing events the meet showed no hopes at all.

Asked if there was a problem in scouting, he said, ''More importantly there is no scientific and rigid norm for age verification. Elder players, who are short, often excel along side the lanky juniors in the junior level. But when they enter the senior phase they face burnouts. The prospects by then return demoralized.'' ''See Sabina and Safina Khatun are finished even before they started off,'' he added.

Asked on who he hoped would step into the shoes of Sushmita and Soma, he said, ''I don't know yet. I see no one. In the 400mts category I have seen one Deboshree Haldar. I am keeping my fingers crossed for her. But an entire state meet throwing up one prospect is very demoralizing.'' He also informed that Soma and Sushmita will not participate in the Open Nationals but would do the Federation Championship Camp.

UNI