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The Rediff Interview / Shakti Singh

'The immediate aim is the Olympics; I am trying very hard to cross the 21 metre mark in shot put'

Shakti Singh is a doyen among India's athletes. The 38-year-old veteran holds the national record in both the shot put and discus throw. Earlier this year he became the first Indian to cross the 20-metre barrier in shot put, when he hurled the spheroid to 20.07 metres at a circuit meet in New Delhi. The burly Sikh has to his collection silver medals from the event at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998 and the Asian Track and Field championships in Fukuoka earlier in the same year.

A late bloomer, Shakti has now emerged as the main hope for an unexpected Indian medal at the Sydney Olympics in September this year. Although the World record stands at over 23 metres, the best throwers in the world are currently in the range of between 21 to 22 metres.

This week a 23-member Indian team left for the Ukraine on a five-week training-cum-competition stint ahead of the Olympics. The trip is expected to be extremely fruitful for the squad and especially for Shakti as he prepares to reach peak performance levels in time for the big event. The ace athlete spoke to rediff.com about the goals he has set for himself, the state of Indian athletics and the career-threatening knee injury that almost finished his career two years ago. Excerpts from the conversation:

It must be quite satisfying to have come back from a knee injury and perform so well at both the domestic and Asian level...

Yes, it has been rewarding. I had an operation done on my knee in January 1998. Before the operation, I had been playing through the pain for almost four years. But I was scared that if the operation was unsuccessful, it might end my career. Luckily, it all worked out well and my surgeon Dr. Ashok Rajagopal did a great job for me. Interestingly, I used to compete mainly in the discus throw before the operation and only occasionally in the shot put. Although I held the national record in the shot put as well, it wasn't my main event. After the operation I began concentrating on that and it has paid rich dividends.

What are your general impressions about the athletics scenario in the country, considering you are one of the leading athletes in India at the moment?

Our recent results have been encouraging, you must admit. At the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998, we did really well and won several medals. I think the credit must go the to Amateur Athletics Federation of India. They have planned the recent schedules very well. Many international competitions have been organised of late and that has allowed a lot of young athletes to compete against good quality competitors from abroad. It is not possible to send a large number of athletes abroad due to financial constraints, so organising these competitions at home helps them get better. What's more, the number of domestic meets has increased and that has helped the athletes as well.

Despite the success that you talk about, isn't it a fact that our international performances are not even at par with some very small countries?

I think the main reason for that is that there is no planning for athletics at the grass root level. I mean that the schools, districts and universities are not taking an active interest in developing athletes. I am not going to criticise cricket here, but the point is that if the state associations and leadership looks at the issue they would realise that if they encourage young boys to play cricket or any other sport, they do not make athletes, but if they encourage them to take to athletics, they can still develop the skills for other sports. Athletic skills are important for all sports and so it would make sense to develop them among the youth, I feel.

Recently, the athletics federation employed the services of several foreign coaches. In fact , you are going to Ukraine with four of them too help you out. What do you think of this move?

I think it is a very good idea. This is not to say that we do not have good coaches. My point is that clearly the athletes in Europe are better than us; it shows in their results. Now they are better for certain reasons which are known to their coaches and trainers. When they come to India and coach us as they have been, we learn from their experience and get better as a result. I would go a step further and say that our coaches should be sent abroad to train under them. They will also pick up tips and can impart them to us when they return from their experience.

Do you feel sad that many national records that were set in the sixties and seventies are still unbroken considering that the facilities for athletes have improved, and the monetary rewards have also become better than in the past?

Yes, that is an area of concern but from what I hear about legends like Milkha Singh, they used to spend most of the year abroad, training under foreign coaches. We spend a maximum of four to six weeks abroad and that is clearly not enough to improve our standards. It is important to remember that they used to spend the whole year training abroad and it showed in their results.

What are your thoughts on the future? How long are you going to keep competing?

The immediate aim is the Olympics; I am trying very hard to cross the 21 metre mark in shot put. Obviously, that is my main goal right now and I am confident of getting it given my recent form and fitness. You must remember that in shot put age is not a major factor. Our present national coach, Bahadur Singh, was competing at the international level even in his forties. If you have the discipline and desire, as also the support of your family, backing you up as mine does, I think you can be competitive for a long time. I may be around for another eight to ten years, but the most important aim right now is the Olympics and, hopefully, all these training programmes and international exposure before that should be of great help going into the Olympics.

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