New Delhi: Servin Sebastian was unfortunate to miss out on a Paris Olympics berth. The results of the race walking meet in Chandigarh where he breached the Paris qualification mark were not considered by World Athletics due to a technical glitch of the organisers.
There were a couple of meets left before Paris but Servin could not repeat his performance. A crestfallen Servin decided to take a break from race walking and not compete this season. It was then that Army coach Basanta Bahadur Rana stepped in and motivated him to look ahead and get over the setback.
The Tamil Nadu race walker has not only started afresh but is performing with renewed vigour. On Tuesday, Servin took bronze at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea – his first big international medal – with a personal best timing of 1:21:14. Paris Olympian and Asian Games silver medallist Wang Zhaozhao of China (1:20:37) won gold, seeing off a tough fight from Japan’s Kento Yoshikawa (1:20:46). The second Indian, Amit, came fifth (1:22:14.30).
“I have worked hard this season to win an international medal. Though the disappointment of not going to Olympics still lingers, with encouragement from my coach I was able to look at the bigger goal,” Servin told HT.
“I was so dejected after the episode that I wanted to take a long break and not do race walking for sometime. I discussed it with my coach but he encouraged me, saying such things are part of an athlete’s life and that I have the potential to do much better,” he said.
While Servin opened India’s medal count, distance runner Gulveer Singh executed a brilliant final kick to win gold in 10,000m.
Asian Games medallist Gulveer ran a brilliant last lap to surge past his rivals and dash home with a timing of 28:38.63. His personal best stands at 27:00.22, the national record which he achieved at a meet in the US in March.
Given the hot and humid conditions, Gulveer did well to bide his time before accelerating, leaving behind Japan’s Mebuki Suzuki (28:43.84) and Bahrain’s Albert Kibichi Rop (28:46.82), who led for the most part of the race.
“The goal was to finish first and I am happy that I was able to execute my race strategy,” said Gulveer. “There were expectations from me to win gold and this medal will enhance my chances of qualifying for the world championships.”
This performance will give him a big boost for the 5,000m race on the last day of the competition (May 31). Gulveer has been on a record-breaking spree this season and has qualified for the September Tokyo worlds in 5,000m through entry standard (12:59.77), achieved at a meet at Boston University.
At his Diamond League debut in Doha on May 16, Gulveer finished 9th. He trained in Doha and then in Delhi and was able to adjust to the hot conditions in Gumi. Water stations were in place during the race. “I wanted to conserve my energy for the last lap. I wasn’t feeling tired after crossing the finish line. If someone had pushed me, I could have gone faster,” he added.
The second Indian in the race, Sawan Barwal, finished fourth clocking 28:50.53.
Earlier, Servin gave India a good start. This season, Servin has shown top form in the domestic circuit winning gold at the National Games (1:21:23) and Indian Open Race Walking Competition (1:21:47). “I want to do well in every race so that I can compete at the world championships.”
The performance in Gumi will give a big boost to his world rankings and the Race to Tokyo rankings. He is currently 45th, with 50 slots available for the race walkers at the worlds.
Servin could have done better had he not stopped for a water break at a crucial juncture. In hot and humid conditions, Servin did well to stay with the leading pack of seven athletes for a major part of the race. Breaking off from the pack, he maintained a good pace behind the Chinese and Japanese walkers.
“It was a mistake to go for water so close to the finish line with two km left. I was already in a medal position but could have done better. Once they went ahead the gap widened and I could never catch them.”
These are important learnings for Servin, who has emerged as India’s best in 20km race walk in the last one year.
“He has been a standout performer. He pushes himself in training and is mentally strong,” says Basanta Bahadur Rana.
Woman javelin national record holder, Annu Rani, came fourth with a best effort of 58.30m. In decathlon, Tejaswin Shankar led the field after the first day’s events.
