Coach feels youngsters can cope with Tokyo qualification delay

KOCHI: Athletes across the world face a long wait till December to get an opportunity to qualify for the Olympics after the World Athletics decided to suspend the qualification period for the Games till the end of November.With the Tokyo Olympics pushed to 2021, athletes are having to re-draw their plans and preparations — both those who have qualified and those who are looking to qualify.

A number of Indian track and field athletes like Dutee Chand, Hima Das and M Sreeshankar were among those looking to book their Olympic tickets when the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a standstill.

India’s deputy chief national coach Radhakrishnan Nair feels that a majority of the Indian athletes can cope with this delay.“The average age of the Indian team is 24 or so. So, for many of these athletes, one more year will be like an extra training year for the Olympics. Those who were in good form to qualify, this suspension of qualification might be like a minor setback but they have still got time to get things in order and be ready,” said Nair.

He, however, admitted that it will be a little different for older athletes. “For those who are either coming back from an injury or nursing an injury, and those who are a little older, things might be a little different. They might have to make adjustments and take extra care of themselves,” he said.December is still far away and Nair suggested that even though athletes didn’t have competitive events to look forward in the immediate future, they should not compromise on their fitness.

“It is the kind of situation that none of us have come across before in our lives. The first thing to do is to stay safe and protected and the next thing is to try and maintain physical fitness. That’s what we are telling the athletes,” said Nair.

The likes of Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh, KT Irfan, Bhawna Jat and Avinash Sable have already qualified for the Tokyo Games.  Nair said that an additional reason for freezing the qualification period could be to keep a check on doping.

“It could also be one of the reasons. Because of all the travel restrictions and the other challenges caused by the coronavirus, the anti-doping officials may not have been able to do the necessary testing. It could have been a factor,” said Nair.