Kerala State School Athletic Championship: Medal rat race burns out athletes

THENHIPALAM: One of the major criticisms state school athletic meet faces is the burnout of the athletes. The rat race for medals in school athletic meets is forcing the junior athletes to participate in maximum number of events, say critics. Also, the training workload is more than what the age can bear, hampering their development in sports. Critics allege that it is the biggest reason of athletes' performance waning when they reach the senior level. Most of the athletes, who compete in the sub-junior category onward, participate in at least three or four events during the four-day championship.

These athletes' preparation start at least six to seven months before and some are forced to undergo rigorous training to boost the school's points tally. "It is a serious problem. What I noticed recently is the number of athletes getting injured at this tender age is above the normal than during our times. It is an alarming sign as the schools make the athletes scapegoat for their glory," said the world athletic championship medalist Anju Bobby George. The long jumper says that a handful of coaches are keen to use unscientific health products to get the maximum out of the kids.

"The school age is the time when the children's muscles still develop. When you pump protein powder and the supplements that are used by body builders, the repercussions are huge. I have noticed it personally among some of the coaches and this lead to severe muscle injuries and hamper the players' development in the long run" she said. The former international athlete says the techniques used in coaching also should change. "During our times, we have also participated in a number of events. But it did not hamper our career. This was because of the systematic training based on our future. When an athlete learns a wrong technique it is going to reflect when she/he participates in senior level. During our time we had lack of guidance and money. But now the major problem is the shortcut to victory," she points out.

Kalladi HSS coach Mineesh ET also feels that there should be regulation in the number of events an athlete can participate. "The workload during training is very high for the athletes at this age. I only send junior athletes to a meet in a year. This reduces the stress on them. I also believe the workouts should change and must be according to the ability of the athlete rather than aiming only medals. I think a maximum of two events would be better for the kids," he said.

Though PT Usha usually criticises the workload given to the youngsters, she has fielded her several athletes in more than three events. However she refutes that it would affect the athletes negatively. "I have said it frequently that there should be a healthy competition rather than a rat race. We have asked them to reduce the events for an athlete to two. However, this is not the case at present. When it comes to Usha School of Athletes, we are not giving them extra work load. For us school athletics give good experience for the kids during their formative years. Our ultimate aim is not to win the school athletics and so the workout is far less for them. This has been the case for all of the athletes including Tintu and Jisna," said Usha.

Anumol, Nivya hog limelight as Ernakulam lead points table

Anumol Thampi and Nivya Antony hogged the limelight on the second day of the 60th State School Athletic Championship at CH Muhammad Koya Stadium as Ernakulam, powered by Mar Basil HSS Kothamangalam, led the race for overall championship on Sunday. Anumol Thampi shrugged off her disappointment of losing in the 3,000 m on Saturday as she raced to her first gold in the 5,000m senior category of the state school athletic championship. She clocked 17:14.27, 10 seconds lesser than previous record holder P.U. Chithra, to claim the first place.

“I was disappointed after my first race. It was my first race in the senior category and I had to cope with the lose for the first time. However, my coaches motivated me and it was a good race. I was able to come up with good performance,” said Anumol. This is the first time, Anumol attempting the event in state school meet.
Nivya Antony was another star performer of the day as the athlete from Palakkad scaled new heights in the junior girls’ pole vault. She vaulted 3.45m to set meet record and also better the national record. The result was better than the senior girls pole vault record of 3.42 m and the athlete found the glory in her final attempt.

Anumol Thampi sets meet record in the 5000 m senior girls' category in the state school athletic championship at Thenhipalam on Sunday.

“It was a good try. This is my first year in the senior category and I am happy that I was able to perform well in this,” said the athlete, who started her sporting career as a hurdler. The athlete is from Kalladi HSS, Palakkad and has been training there for past four years. She had scaled the same height earlier in the SAFF Games selection trials. “She has the ability to make it to 3.50m in the coming years. We are still watching her development. Her technique and mentality are superb,” said her coach Satheesh Kumar.

Aswin Sankar A.P. of Kalladi HSS was another meet record holder as he clocked 22:48.02 to erase Nitheesh CT’s one-year-old meet record. The fourth meet record of the day came in discus throw as Athulya PA of Government Fisheries School Nattika managed a throw of 35.41 m. Mar Basil HSS Kothamangalam is leading the race for school overall title with 61 points followed by Kallady HSS Palakkad (43 points). Last year’s runners-up Parli HSS had a bad start as the school has only able to win 17 points so far.

Sophiya clocks the fastest

The wait to know the fastest athlete of the meet had an interesting culmination as junior athlete Sophiya Sunny of Mar Basil HSS Kothamangalam sprung a surprise by clocking 12.49 sec, a better time than her senior counterparts in the 100m race here on Sunday. Sophiya won the race in a photo finish, defeating Kozhikode’s Aparna Roy, 12.50 sec, both the timings the best in all category. Usha School of Athletics athlete Sooryamol finished in the third place. In the boys category, Muhammed Ajmal of Palakkad emerged as the fastest athlete with a timing of 10.97 sec.

Sreerag T. of Malappuram wins the 100m sprint in the sub-junior boys category

In the senior girls’ category, Palakkad’s VIny PV grabbed her second gold in the meet with a timing of 12.63 sec. She had earlier won gold in senior long jump. In the sub-junior boys’ category Malappuram boy Sreerag T. won the gold while Neeraj B A of Kollam grabbed the second place. Both clocked 12.21 and 12.26 sec respectively. Usha ward Elga Thomas was the fastest in the sub-junior girls category while her academy mate Jasna Shaji clinched the bronze medal. St Joseph’s HSS Pulloorampara student Alna Shaju claimed the silver.