Indian athletes face uphill task of securing qualification for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
IAAF’s updated criteria of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics meant that Indian athletes will be fighting against the odds to reach the final. The qualification criteria states that an athlete can qualify if he/she has the required world ranking or through timings which are set very high.
The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) recently announced the criteria to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on March 10, which caused a lot of turmoil amongst athletes, especially in India. The updated qualification criteria claim that an athlete can qualify for the Tokyo Games if he/she has the required world ranking or through timings which are set very high. Earlier, there were two qualifying marks based on timing within a specified period however, the international body has added the mark of world ranking for the first time.
For India, it means that any and every athlete who wants to make the trip to Tokyo will have to set a National Record or be among the top-ranked athlete in the IAAF bracket. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and quarter-miler Hima Das are supposedly close to making the
Haryana-lad Neeraj has thrown the spear over 85 metres more than once and he may also achieve the qualifying mark through rankings. Neeraj claimed the 90 metres mark in Tokyo could fetch him a medal. Hima clocked 50.79 for the 400m while winning the Junior World Championships gold, and the qualifying time for Tokyo is 51.35.
But Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president, Adille Sumariwalla, is opting to look at the positive side of the recent IAAF decision.
“The qualifying standard may be kept a little high but if you are falling in the ranking system within the quota you will qualify. A dozen people qualified for London. In the present ranking system, 25 people will qualify.
“The way we are looking at Olympics now has changed. We are looking at medals. We are not looking only to qualify. Our vision has changed from Jakarta, from qualifying to winning medals. We could have taken 20 more athletes to Jakarta and come back with the same number of medals,” says Sumariwalla. “Our focus has changed. We have moved into a higher range and have enough depth. We are fighting for medals now and not just going there for fun or to run behind everybody,” Sumariwalla told TOI sources.
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