Orissa sprinter Mallick to train under Usain Bolt's coach

Mumbai: Orissa sprinter Amiya Mallick, who won the men's 200m in National Open Athletics Championships at Ranchi last September, is set to train under Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt's coach Glen Mills with an aim to make it to the Indian squad for two major meets later this year.

"In 200m I did 21.22 recently in Ranchi. I am aiming for 2014 Commonwealth and Asian Games. On 12th of this month I am going to Jamaica to train under Usain Bolt's coach for four months," he said at the Indian Oil Corporation's media meet here.

"My aim is to do better in the 200 metres. When I go there I will work with the coaches to improve on the timing. I know that if I improve my time by even a fraction of a second I will qualify for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. I am also looking to work on my fitness. I will talk to the coaches about how to improve my fitness and stamina.

"If I am lucky to break the current Indian national record of 20.73 seconds, I am confident I will win a medal at the Asian Games too," said the 21-year old Orissa athlete who is employed with IOL.

Mallick said his state association is sponsoring and sending him to Jamaica and he would be leaving on January 12.

"My state association is sending me there and they have communicated with them," he said.

Asked if he had sought permission from Athletics Federation of India, Mallick said, "We don't have any camps right now, so I am free to go. I think the state association might have taken the permission."

Mallick said he will try and build on his strength and endurance level when he is at Racers Track Club -- the institute founded by Mills in Jamaica.

India's top-ranked shuttler P Kashyap, who was at the meet, said he was aiming to remain injury free with three major events Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Asian Games being held within a short span of time this year."It is a very important year. I just want to stay injury free. In the last part of 2013 I had lot of injuries in the end. I would plan my tournaments better and train a lot more and prepare for those three games," said Kashyap.

"Especially the Commonwealth, World Championships and Asian Games are all to be held within 20 days' gap, so I need to be physically fit to do my best in those tournaments," he added.

The CWG will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 21 to August 4, followed by the Worlds at Copenhagen in Denmark from August 25-231. The Asiad are scheduled in Incheon, South Korea from September 28 to October 5.

Kashyap, who made the quarterfinals of the men's singles at the 2012 London Olympics and is currently ranked 16th in the world, said he learnt a lot in the inaugural season of the Indian Badminton League last year by watching many star players.

The Hyderabad player said there was a need for more academies in the country, with just two functioning at the moment (in Hyderabad and Bangalore), adding players like him would set up more academies in the future, once they retire.

Ace cueist Aditya Mehta said his immediate aim was to break into the top 50 in the world pro snooker circuit and the top 16 over a period of three or four years.

"For me there is just one track mind and that is to get up the rankings and keep performing. I had my career best performance this year (2013) and it is going to be difficult to do it again, making the finals of a professional event (Indian Open in Delhi). I don't know how long (it will be) before I get there, but that is the target to win one and keep moving up.

"I have managed to break into the top 64, which was the target at the start of this season and hopefully will keep moving up into the 50s and eventually in three to four years the target would be top 16. It is just a matter of being consistent," he said.

Mehta is ranked number 63 and said there are still four more months for the season to end.