Sini Jose looks to bury tainted past, targets a better future
The enduring image of India’s 4x400m women’s relay gold-medal-winning show at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games — nearly five years ago — was that of Mandeep Kaur, the anchor-leg runner staving off the challenge from competitors in the final stretch.
Ashwini Akkunji, the new star on the horizon, ran the third leg in both the races while the experienced Manjeet Kaur, still the national record holder in the 400 flat, gave the team a strong start.
A trivia question as to who was the fourth athlete of the quartet may not elicit a quick answer even from those who follow the athletics calendar closely.
Sini Jose had dropped off the circuit. When the relay girls, except for Manjeet — who was not tested and retired subsequently — returned after a two-year ban, Sini remained on the sidelines.
Mandeep made a grand comeback by being part of the gold-medal winning relay team at the Incheon Games.
Ashwini returned to compete in the 400 metre hurdles at the Asiad. Sini’s only appearance since the dope scandal was last year in a low-key event. She participated in an inter-railways meet in Chennai but could finish only third.
She does not recall her timing at that particular meet but admits that it clearly showed how far she had regressed since the glory days of 2010. Being an employee of Southern Railways, Sini turned up at the event though she was carrying a tendon injury.
She points to her left ankle, which she says is now ‘completely pain-free.’ A steady evening drizzle forced her to cut-short her warm-up routine on Friday but for someone who has been biding her time for the past four years, the rain-interruption is an insignificant hurdle.
At the 55th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai, Sini will be making a return to national-level competition. With no performance of note recently, she has not been fielded by her home-state Kerala and had to go knocking on the doors of Chhattisgarh.
“I started training only three months ago. Before that I was struggling because of the tendon injury. I could do light workouts but if I wore my spikes and attempted speed-training, I would feel a shooting pain,” Sini says.
After a year of battling injury, Sini believes she has enough time to prove herself and return to the 4×400 relay team for the Rio Olympics. When the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports released a second list of 39 athletes, who were being funded under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (Tops), Sini’s name was included in a nine-member relay pool.
The inclusion of an athlete who hadn’t competed at the national level since 2011 was surprising but for Sini the news could not have come at a better time with the Rio Games just over a year away.
“Being included in the Tops scheme was a confidence boost for me. I am now part of the national camp in Patiala, so it is good to be back in the fold. I know I have to work really hard to get back to my best. But I am confident of improving quickly,” Sini says.
She will have to face an uphill battle with younger athletes in the fray to be part of the 4×400 relay squad. With Tintu Luka and MR Poovamma establishing themselves in the team and the likes of Anilda Thomas and Debashree Majumdar making rapid progress, Sini, now 27, will have to prove her credentials again.
“When I was injured I was not sure if I would be able to compete again. I had a desire to make a comeback after the ban was over but had to be patient. It was a difficult phase because I had already lost two years because of the ban.
And then I had to wait longer than the others because of the injury. By God’s grace I am fit now and can look forward to participating in events without the fear of injury.”
Day I highlights
Results: (Men) 5000m: 1. G Lakshmanan (TN) 14:12.38, 2. Gopi T (Ker) 14:15.30, Man Singh (Uttarakhand) 14:15.63; Pole Vault: 1 Parveen Kumar (Har) 4.80m, 2. Balakrishna P (Kar) 4.70m, 3. Kundan (Har) 4.70
(Women) Long Jump: 1. Neena V (Ker) 6.33m, 2. Sharaddha Ghule (Mah) 6.27, 3. Prajusha MA (Ker) 6.08; Shot put: 1. Navjeet Kaur (Pun) 14.09m, Harkirat Kaur (Pun) 13.67, Pinki Dey (Orissa) 13.17; 5000m: 1. L Surya 16:01.28, 2. Swati Gadhwe (Mah) 16:32.98, 3. Monika M Athre (Mah) 16:48.03.
