Bhubaneswar: India have fielded six long jumpers in the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships. After the inauguration, Wednesday, the athletes will get down to competitive action from Thursday.
While some will try and create new records and win medals, some others will try and use this event as a learning curve in their career. One of the them is is Karthika Kodandapani of Tamil Nadu, who is looking to gain some valuable experience from the competition. This is her first big exposure to international athletics.
“To be realistic I don’t think I’ll be a medal contender this time around,” Karthika candidly confessed, Wednesday at the Kalinga Stadium. “The competition level will be pretty tough and we have to face stiff competitions from Chinese, Japanese and Korean long jumpers,” Karthika added.
Karthika’s coach Prabhakar is telling her not to think much about the result and medals and just focus on giving her best. “To be frank, I am not thinking what lies in store for me in the competition. As a long jumper, I will get six rounds. My aim is to improve the distance with every jump,” said the athlete.
“This exposure will provide us with valuable learning experience and I am sure we will benefit from it. We will get the chance to interact with athletes from other nations and this will stand us in good stead for the future,” added the Tamil Nadu girl.
Karthika’s main aim is to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. “There is still a long way to go. I am working very hard with my coach. Also whenever I am getting the opportunity, I am participating in competitions as there is nothing better than competing against others,” pointed out Karthika.
“I am sure that with the experience I am gaining and God willing, I’ll make it to the Indian team for the 2020 Games,” Karthika added.
The long jumper also expressed satisfaction about the facilities here at the Kalinga Stadium. “Everything is good here except the rain. One can’t do much about the weather though. That has become a hindrance in our training and deterred our spirit a little bit. I hope it will be a rain free day when we compete,” she signed off.
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