Track and field action
begins tomorrow

With the Indian contingent putting up a rather lacklustre show thus far, the focus now shifts to the athletes, who are expected to boost the meagre medal collection in the showpiece athletics event of the 14th Asian Games, beginning in Busan on Monday.

The small batch of athletes did quite creditably at the recent Commonwealth Games and the 42-member team has come here determined to prove that the Manchester performance was not a flash in the pan but the result of improved standards.

Despite the presence of a galaxy of star athletes from the region, some of the Indian participants could well be the big medal winners here.

The large athletics contingent is expected to bring in the biggest share of medals, and that should include a few gold medals, too, besides a fair sprinkling of silver and bronze.

K M Beenamol, who will be participating in the 400 and the 800 metres, is one of the favourites for the gold medal. Beenamol, who has trained in Ukraine and is in good form, should clinch the gold in at least one of the two events, if not in both.

In the shorter track events, Saraswati Dey stands a good chance in the 200 metres, where she has a time of under 23 seconds at home. If she manages to repeat that, a medal will be sure, but Sri Lanka's Susantika Jayasinghe and the Chinese runners will be her biggest threats.

Sunita Rani, entered in the 1,500 metres and the 5,000 metres at present, could be the other gold medallist, while Anju B George, in women's long jump and triple jump, and Bobby Aloysius, in women's high jump, are also likely to return with medals.

The men have tougher competition though they have an advantage in some of the field events. Led by veteran Shakti Singh and Bahadur Singh in shot put, and Anil Kumar in discus, the throwers should bag a few medals.

On the women's side, Neelam J Singh, bronze medal winner in Bangkok'98, is a fine prospect to at least repeat her performance in discus though she will be up against some tough Chinese opponents.

India's second entry in the discus throw, Harwant Kaur also stands a fair chance of winning a medal.

The 4x400 metres relay teams should get medals in both men's and women's section. While the women are overwhelming favourites for the gold, the men should be fighting for a silver or bronze, considering their depth in the event.

Four years ago at Bangkok, India had 15 medals, including two gold, both from Bengal's Jyotirmoyee Sikdar. This time the situation should be better and even if the medal count is likely to be similar, chances are that the gold collection could be better with more than two golds almost looking a certainty.

"We are confident of winning much more medals here. The athletes are in good form and we are sure that they will put up a good display," Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said.

The Indian athletes, who reached this port city a couple of days ago, had a light training session though the steady drizzle right through the day hampered their practice to some extent.