S. Siva rewrote his national record in the pole vault by clearing 5.15m.
In his final jump, after bettering his pole vault national record, S. Siva came agonisingly close to crossing the 5.25m mark. He claims he would have easily cleared the height but for the lights. The 21-year-old vaulter complained about the “poorly lit” competition area and said he couldn’t even see the bar, crashing into it in his last three attempts. Men’s Pole vault, which had 15 participants, started around 4:30pm and went on till late in the evening, with Siva making his last attempt post 7pm.
Athletics Federation of India secretary CK Valson said he did foresee such an issue arising and had suggested the event to be shifted to another day as it was clashing with the time (3pm) allotted to the women’s discus event. “But they (competitors) said they had already made their reservations and won’t be able to take part on another day. I clearly told them that ‘don’t come to me later saying that there was no light’. Although the track at NIS has floodlight facilities, they aren’t focused towards the jump area.” Valson said.
Siva was sorely disappointed at missing the Commonwealth Games qualification mark, which stands at 5.45m, but took solace from the fact that he could improve upon his previous national record marginally. Siva crossed the 5.15m mark, erasing the previous record of 5.14m. Thereafter, he raised the bar to 5.25m but failed to cross it.
“I have crossed 5.25 so many times in practice. As I was running towards the pit, I realised the bar wasn’t visible at all,” Siva said.
“ My coach is going to scold me so bad. I don’t know what to tell him,” said Siva with a nervous smile on his face.
Just last year in Patiala, Siva had broken the national record for the first time with a jump of 5.14m. A son of daily wage labourers in Tamil Nadu, he was introduced to the sport by his elder brother Tamilarasan.
Before beginning his tryst with pole vaulting, Siva was a promising swimmer. With no swimming pools at his village, the youngster honed his skills at the Kallanai dam in Tiruchi district of Tamil Nadu. One day Tamilarasan took Siva to a college meet he was taking part in. “It was like magic. The way he (Tamilarasan) leapt over that bar was mesmerising. At that very moment I decided that I want to take up vaulting,” Siva recalls. But there was a impediment, Siva couldn’t afford a pole.
Fortunately, Don Wilcox, a former pole vaulter-turned-coach, was more than willing to take him under his wings. Wilcox served in the Income Tax department until retiring four years ago, and since then, has been training children at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
In a way, Wilcox adopted the then 17-year-old. He got Siva enrolled at the prestigious Loyola College and even paid his first-year college fee. In the second year, Siva broke the junior national record at the junior Fed Cup, earning him a scholarship at the college.
Siva joined the Army as a havildar last year, but says he’s yet to receive his salary. He believes the Army is not clearing his dues as he’s refused to train with the Army Sports Institute coaches in Pune and chose to train with Wilcox instead. “Everyone in my unit has received his salary. I tried training in Pune, but it did not suit me. I am struggling to cover my expenses. I have borrowed money to come to Patiala,” a dejected Siva said.
He is particularly unhappy that he is not able to support his family monetarily due to his salary issues. “It’s all for them. I have seen my parents work so hard for us. My father in particular. I’ve cried many a time seeing my parents work tirelessly.”
His parents have received no formal education but have ensured their four children complete graduation at least. Tamilarasan has completed his M.Phil while his sisters are graduates. “I have 15 arrears to clear. But I will definitely clear them soon and become a graduate.”
Seema achieves CWG mark
Seema Punia was the only athlete to hit the AFI qualification mark for the CWG on Day One of the Federation Cup in Patiala. She managed to throw the discus to a distance of 61.05 metres, which was more than two metres over the AFI’s 59m guideline. Navjeet Dhillon, who met the qualification mark in the first leg of the Indian Grand Prix, finished second with a best throw of 57.75m while Kirandeep Kaur (46.08m) finished third. Seema, a two-time Commonwealth Games silver medallist and 2014 Asian Games champion, was taking part in her first competition of the season. She was coming off from a training stint in California and is planning to return within a week. “I am glad at achieving the mark but it’s just the start of the season and my distances will improve for sure,” she said.
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