Protecting India's fragile athletics hopes

CHENNAI: A day before the 2025 Diamond League final in Zurich, Switzerland, two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra was asked whether India was still a weak sporting nation. His response was measured but pointed. “We have good talent, also some javelin throwers, we have good sprinters,” he said. “But we really need to protect them.”

It is a sentiment that echoed closer home. In an exclusive conversation with DT Next, James Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation, stressed the same concern: India must do more to safeguard and support its athletes.

The need becomes apparent when one looks back at this year’s Federation Cup. Tejas Shirse, the national record holder in the 110m hurdles, clocked 13.65 seconds in his season opener. The qualifying mark for the Asian Athletics Championships was 13.56. He missed it narrowly and was left out. Yet, Vishal TK, a Tamil Nadu quarter-miler was included in the continental squad, despite also falling short of the standard. (He later went on to set a new national record at the recently held Senior Nationals in Chennai.) Former national 100m record holder Gurindervir Singh, for example, was overlooked for an individual berth altogether.

Such inconsistencies expose the inconsistencies of the selection system and undermine the very idea of “protecting athletes”.

Now, the spotlight shifts to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. Hopes will rest on a much-reduced Indian contingent. Injuries have taken a heavy toll, trimming the squad to 17 athletes — fewer than the team that travelled to Budapest in 2023.

“We’ve just had a really unlucky year,” Hillier admitted. “There have been a lot of injuries, and some athletes are only just coming back from serious ones like Murali Sreeshankar. When you’ve only got a few stars, a few setbacks can change the whole landscape.”

The setbacks have indeed been stark. Avinash Sable and heptathlete Nandini Agasara, both qualified, were forced to withdraw due to surgery and injury. The weight of expectation, therefore, now falls on an even smaller group.

Hillier, however, urges perspective. “We desperately want Indian athletes on a world-level podium but… we’re not there yet,” he said. He pointed to the unfair burden of expectation placed on hurdler Jyothi Yarraji during Paris, calling the pressure she faced “unrealistic”.

Jyothi herself is currently undergoing rehabilitation following ACL surgery earlier this year. “She had successful surgery and is in intensive rehab,” Hillier said. “We’re very much living in the present. We’re not putting a time frame on when she’ll start running again.” He prefers to frame her training status not as injured, but pivoting training modalities.

Still, India will send a meaningful team to Tokyo. Leading, as always, is Neeraj Chopra, and one of the few genuine global contenders. He will be joined by fellow javelin throwers Sachin Yadav and Yashvir Singh. The line-up also features Gulveer Singh (5000m), Parul Chaudhary and Ankita Dhyani (3000m steeplechase), Praveen Chitravel (triple jump), Murali Sreeshankar (long jump), Annu Rani (javelin), Sarvesh Kushare (high jump), Pooja (1500m), and race walkers Akshdeep Singh, Servin Sebastian, Ram Baboo and Priyanka Goswami.

For Hillier, the broader picture remains clear. “This is still an era of emergence. We have to dominate Asia first,” he said, underlining the importance of building step by step.

Exposure to strong competition, he insists, is critical. “Athletes have to race… if you’re racing, you won’t get injured. The lack of competition can actually cause more injuries,” he noted. He cited the case of Animesh Kujur, who sharpened his personal best by competing in Europe. Even when finishing sixth, the experience of running against faster rivals helped him grow.

India’s athletes may still be some distance from the global podium, but their prospects have been brightening over the years. As Chopra and Hillier stress, the challenge is not simply producing talent — it is about protecting it.