Tendency in India to measure progress in medals. But you can't just turn a switch

Time of India

2 days ago

Earlier this month, 22-year-old Animesh
Kujur
became India's fastest man. A key force behind his success is
Martin Owens
, the coach who has helped shape Kujur's journey. Speaking to
Shruti Sonal
during a hectic Swiss tour, Owens discusses the future of desi sprinters, prep for the Olympics bids, and more
You've watched Kujur go from promising talent to record-breaker. How did your coach-athlete relationship begin?
I first met him at an event in Chhattisgarh in 2022. He'd just won the 200m race with a timing of 21.18 seconds. There are two sides to this story. My story is that he begged me to take him into the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre where I am head coach. His version is that I begged him to join it. One of us does not have a very good memory. When he joined, I noticed that he was a big physical specimen. When he moved, he was fast. But he couldn't squat properly, his mobility was poor. However, he had a good work ethic, and he just got better and better. The following year, he broke the 21-second mark and became the second-fastest 200m sprinter in India. Since then, he has dominated Indian sprinting.
You've spoken about how his body wasn't letting him run really fast. What changed?
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Health: the best shoes to walk and stand all day
Ultra-Comfortable Shoes
Undo
We had to really work on his starts. Thankfully, I had a team around me full of physios and sports scientists, and we all had our own theories on what was wrong with his starts and how he could work on it. It was probably a combination of everything: some of it stemming from his confidence issues, the rest from his learned behaviour. We just worked on it and his top-end speed got better. Then we realised that when he hit the timing gates at certain parts in the race, he could hold his own against a world-class field. Hence, we began providing him more global exposure. We've been at the Swiss Olympic centre in Magglingen and they have been really generous with their ideas, equipment and access. We've seen the results of that in the 10.18 he clocked recently in the 100m race at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays meet in Greece. But I don't think that's a fair reflection of how fast he can run.
Do you think he's anywhere close to breaking the 10-second mark?
No, 0.18 isn't close but we're getting there. Breaking records depends on a number of factors. You need to be in shape, you need a good track, good weather conditions and the right competitors. But you cannot expect to break the record every time you run out on the track. His journey is just starting, really. There's only been two years of serious training. For now, we're aiming for the Bronze Continental Tour that's held in our home stadium in Bhubaneswar in Aug. And then we've got the World Tokyo Championships in Sept. Qualifying for that is our main target.
You were previously a running coach in England. How different are the cultures around sport in the two countries, and what was the biggest challenge after coming to India?
The first challenge was the traffic and noise (laughs). I love Indian food, but it made me put on quite a few pounds, and I am still struggling with that. In terms of the sporting culture, people do athletics in the UK as a hobby, and as a sport. In India, it's a totally different thing. Most people tend to do it because they want a job. There are very few who want to do it because they want to be better at the sport and do the best they can. That's understandable. If you can get a better job by running faster, jumping further, jumping higher, throwing further, then I'm all for it. But it has led to a culture that is wrapped around support. In the UK, you're pretty dependent on your parents driving you around and taking you to meet somebody, paying for your entry to the competition, along with your hotel and in India, somebody else has to pick up that tab. That might be private players like Reliance, the govt, or another institution.
You've called Odisha India's best-kept sporting secret. Is that where the next big stars will come from?
Odisha has been the standout state for providing sporting support, but as the push goes for the 2036 Olympics, more states are getting involved. They're putting in the infrastructure, and looking for corporate partners. It's a bit like 2012 in the UK, where there was a big push to get everybody involved in sport and bring those medals for the London Olympics. I hope there's a similar push in India with an eye on 2036. And you've got to start now. Those 11 years will go by very, very quickly.
We just saw packed stadiums at the
Neeraj
Chopra Classic. Is that an encouraging sign for Indian athletics?
I think when it's possible to do the same without a superstar like Neeraj there, then I will be happy. What we should be working towards in India is a growth in audiences not driven by superstars, but by a passion for the sport. But it is encouraging, of course. There's a desperate need for heroes like Neeraj. Without him, athletics wouldn't exist at the standard it is in India. His Olympics gold changed Indian athletics forever.
Apart from Kujur,
Mohammed Afsal
and
Gulveer Singh
have been making waves. What will it take to find a sprint star like Neeraj?
Patience, and, unfortunately, there's not much of that going around in India. There's a tendency here to measure this progress in medals. There has got to be understanding that it's a long process. You don't just turn a switch and get a whole load of world-class athletes. There are no shortcuts. It's hard work, good planning, commitment and pushing in the right direction. It's a slow burn and there are unrealistic expectations placed on emerging athletes. India has talent but they need better opportunities to express themselves at a young age through grassroots competitions.