60th Kerala State School Athletic Championship to begin today

THENHIPALAM: Criticise it or not but the state school athletic meet is undoubtedly the biggest occasion for schools and upcoming athletes in the state to come to the fore and showcase their year-long preparation and sporting talents. The 60th State School Athletic Championship at CH Muhammad Koya stadium at University of Calicut here is no different as 2,560 athletes vie with one another for individual glory starting from Saturday onwards. The most glamorous championship in Kerala sports has helped sustain the interest in the sport in the state. "I doubt whether a national meet or even an international meet will get as importance as the state school sport if held in Kerala," said legendary athlete and coach P.T. Usha. The publicity and popularity of the championship has only soared despite several skeptics doubting over over-hype and burnout.

"Almost all of the international athletes from the state started their career at school meets," says Usha. "It gives them a platform and if we are able to tap this potential, we still reign supreme in the more important national meets." Usha pointed out that several meets are being held in Malabar. "Kozhikode hosted the state school meet and national school meet last year," she said. "The university stadium also hosted national youth meet. This shows that athletics is gaining prominence in the area. Moreover, the synthetic track at the university stadium is of superb quality. I expect more records and good results here than the previous year."

Athletes train at CH Muhammad Koya Stadium in Thenhipalam on the eve of 60 th State School Athletics Championship on Friday. (Photo: AKHIN DEV)

The coaches of different school teams feel that the pressure to excel is higher than that of any other athletic meets they attend. "We won by a whisker last year," said Shibi Mathew, the coach of defending champions Mar Basil HSS Kothamangalam. "It will not be different this time, too. The meet is becoming tougher by the year. But there are good results due to increased facilities and performance of the athletes." The school team that represents Ernakulam district has come with almost same squad that made them champions last year. "We have concentrated both on track and field events," Mr Mathew said. "I think the schools from Kalladi, Mundur and the athletes from SAI-Thiruvananthapuram and Usha School will have good performance. This is my calculations from the state junior championship."

Meanwhile, their district mates and arch rivals St George HSS Kothamangalam are out to recapture their lost glory. The team once fought with the Mar Basil for top glory had to satisfy with a lowly sixth position. "We lost several sprint races last year," said Raju Paul, the coach. "We made several mistakes and that cost us lot of points. We will bounce back this year. The squad is ready and there are good additions this year also." Coach P.G. Manoj of Parli HSS that bagged runners-up position feels he has a weakened squad this year. "Several of the athletes from last year are in colleges now and this has weakened our squad," he said. "The athletes in our usual forte - long distance running - are not as good as last year's. We have concentrated more on jump and throw events this year."

Athletes of St George HSS Kothamangalam pose for photo on the eve of 60 th State School Athletics Championship at CH Muhammad Koya Stadium at Thenhipalam on Friday (Photo: AKHIN DEV)

Apart from athletes from sports schools and Sports Authority of India, the other promising ones come from Kallady HSS and Mundur HSS in Palakkad. The athletes from St Joseph's HSS School, Pullurampara in Kozhikode, and Government Fisheries School, Nattika in Thrissur, can also spring surprises. Usha School of Athletics is fielding eight athletes, including their international star Abitha Mary Manuel. Kasargod is fielding the most number of athletes, 193, while Thiruvananthapuram has the least, 150.  

Organisers beat demonetisation

The preparations at University of Calicut are brisk and despite the woes due to demonetisation the organisers are in the last touches to commence the four-day athletic meet at CH Muhammad Koya Stadium here on Friday. Even though the funds have been released by the government for the state meet, officials here are finding it hard to withdraw cash. "Most of the transactions are by online. We are not getting any currencies at now. We are transferring the fund allotted by the government to each convener and they are paying through bank transactions. There are minor troubles but we have prepared earlier so there is no hindrance for our day-to-day activities," said E Padhmanabhan, the finance convener.

The physical education department at University of Calicut is also taking the opportunity as a major one. "The experience in helping to organise the biggest athletic meet in the Asia is immense. The number of athletes itself is more than 2,000. This will help us to get more meets in next year," said Sakeer Hussain, the director of physical education at the University. "The track here is of superb quality and already we have successfully conducted National Youth Athletic Championship. We want to make this venue known for sports meets and this is a great challenge for us," said Sakeer. The University has also made a proposal to the state government to allot fund to build a pavilion at the ground.

Meet misses star Jisna

Olympian Jisna Mathew, the best athlete in the 59th state school athletic championship held in Kozhikode, will be missing this year. Usha School of Athletics, where the athlete who was part of the women 4x400 Olympics relay team trains, has decided to not field the athlete, who is studying in Plus Two at AMHS Poovambai in Kozhikode.  “Jisna is preparing for next season,” said Ajanachandran, secretary of Usha School of Athletics. “The state school athletic meet is happening during off season and we want to give her proper rest and time to prepare for the next season.” This time eight trainees of Usha are taking part in the state school athletic meet.

The North East Factor

In a bid to reign supreme in the state school athletic meet, St. George's HSS Kothamangalam is seeking help of three athletes from Manipur this year also, drawing ire from fellow school coaches. While coaches from rival schools says there is a chance of age fraud if athletes from other states are fielded but the Kotahamnagalam school officials dismissed the charge saying anyone can verify the documents related to their age. St George HSS has included Thangjam Alertson Singh and Warish Bogimayum in the sub-junior boys' category and Chesam Salimudheen in the senior category in the school state athletic meet that starts on Saturday. All the athletes are from Manipur and have represented the school and Ernakulam team in multiple events in the previous year's athletic meet.

St George’s HSS Kothamangalam's Manipuri athlete Warish Bogimayum in action during the 59 th state school athletic meet at Kozhikode held last year

"We have no problem in fielding athletes from other states," says Shibi Mathew, the coach of Mar Basil HSS Kothamangalam. "But there is a chance of age fraud. The rules of certification of birth are strict in Kerala. But in other states, especially in north-eastern states the rules are lax. Also, we all know the athletes who have been training with us for years.  This is not the case with the athletes from other states. If there is no age fraud, we have no problem in welcoming them to compete." St George's coach Raju Paul has rubbished the possibility of age fraud. "These athletes have been in Kerala for the past two-three years," Mr Paul said. "They have participated in the district and state meets. If anyone has any doubts, they are free to check their documents. It is all clear and we don't think there is a possibility of age fraud knowingly or unknowingly." "We are supporting them with all facilities. We are giving them free education and training. They are talented. So I don't think there is any problem in fielding them," he added.