After Asian indoor silver, Praveen targets 17m in marquee events - Hindustan Times
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After Asian indoor silver, Praveen targets 17m in marquee events

Feb 16, 2023 11:35 PM IST

The triple jumper is also looking to break Renjit Maheswary’s national outdoor record of 17.30

Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel opened his competitive season at the recently-concluded Asian Indoor Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan with a leap of 16.98m, winning the silver medal and setting an indoor national record. Praveen went past Amarjeet Singh’s mark of 16.26m, set in 2008 in Doha.

Praveen Chithravel set an indoor national record.
Praveen Chithravel set an indoor national record.

"It was my first indoor event at any level and to return with a silver medal and a national record made it quite memorable," said Praveen who is being groomed by Cuban coach Yoandri Betanzos at the Inspire Institute of Sports.

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"The decision to participate in the event was taken just 20 days before the tournament. The coach thought that it would be nice to get some competition under my belt before the outdoor season. It was a good learning curve. Indoor venues have no wind assistance which helps you train your acceleration better,” said Praveen.

The 21-year-old has now set his sights on the outdoor season comprising a series of big-ticket events such as the Asian Championships, World Championships, and Asian Games. The Olympic qualification cycle will also begin later this year — from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 — and the qualifying mark is set at 17.22m.

This means Praveen, who has just one 17m-plus jump in his career so far (17.18m), will need to produce the second-longest jump ever by an Indian triple jumper to make the cut for Paris. Abdulla Aboobacker's 17.19m jump at the Indian Grand Prix in Bhubaneswar last May is currently the second-best jump by an Indian. Renjit Maheswary’s 17.30m in 2016 is the best.

"I would certainly like to jump 17m more often and in big competitions. I had a few niggles since the National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships where I did 17.18m which meant I was not really regular on the circuit. But I am ready to give my best this year," said Praveen whose last outdoor competition was at the National Games in September.

Then, there's the motivation of gunning for Maheswary’s national record. "Of course, I will be chasing that mark. It will be one of my main targets this year and I'll be really proud if such a jump comes at the World Championships or Asian Games."

Praveen is yet to qualify for Worlds and the window closes on July 30. The mark has been set at 17.20m.

"It'll be challenging but I am not thinking too far ahead. I plan to take it event by event, but doing well at the Asian Games is certainly on my wish list. I got a fair idea of the level of competition I may face at Asian Championships or Asian Games from the indoor championships," he said.

India has seen an uptick in triple jump and long jump over the past year. While Jeswin Aldrin, Murali Sreeshankar, and Muhammed Anees Yahiya have been keeping each other on their toes in the long jump, Praveen has company in Eldhose Paul and Aboobacker. Paul and Aboobacker did a historic 1-2 at last year's Birmingham Commonwealth Games while Praveen missed the podium by three centimetres, finishing fourth behind Bermuda's Jah-Nhai Perinchief.

"It was truly a dream run in Birmingham. I am told our performance there has inspired a lot of young athletes, which is a great thing for athletics."

"The jumps bench is quite strong too. There are a couple of promising youngsters coming up in the triple jump who, I am sure, will be on our heels very soon. The same goes for the long jump. I am very good friends with Jeswin and it's heartening to see his progress," Praveen said.

"We are a really tight group We watch movies together, train together. We revel in each other's success and push each other to get better."

The youngster credits his success to Betanzos who has worked on his explosive power and 'hop' phase of the triple jump. The first of the three jumps, the hop requires the jumper to land on the same foot from which he/she has taken off.

"It is important to have good ground contact in this phase. A powerful hop sets you up for a good 'skip' — the next jump where the athlete lands on the other foot — and the final jump. You need good strength and explosive power to maximise your jumps," he said.

"The advantage with Betanzos is that he actually jumps and shows us the right technique to follow. We don't speak the same language but sport is its own language," said Praveen who will be seen next in the National Open Jumps Competition that begins in Bellary on March 2.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports.

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