2006- A depressing year for Indian athletics

Undated, (UNI) The year 2006 could not have been more depressing for Indian athletics as its medal tally in the Asian Games plummeted sharply, while a medal winner failed gender verification and a potential winner crashed out even before participation in the wake of a doping scandal.

Indian athletes started their campaign with a none-too-impressive show in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games winning three medals -- two silver and a bronze. One Silver in 4x400m women relay was god sent.

Never before had India won a more providential medal than the silver they got in the women's 4 x 400m relay. Hot favourites Jamaica dropped the baton and England were disqualified after crossing the tape first. Australia got the Gold and India, who crossed the tape third, ended with a Silver, while Nigeria took the Bronze. Meanwhile, Jamaica a sure bet for Gold ended fourth. Another team getting disqualified was South Africa.

Seema Antil won a Silver in Melbourne but providence saved India from shame in Asiad because the thrower before she could go to Doha was tested positive allegedly for a steroid and was sent back from Muscat where the country's athletes had gone for a training cum preparation camp enroute to the Qatari capital.

In Melbourne, Anju George's hopes of second successive medal in the Commonwealth Games got buried in the sands of the long jump pit at the historic MCG Stadium as the Lanky Indian finished poor sixth in her event.

The 29-year-old Chennai-based Custom officer, cleared 6.54m, which came in her third attempt to take the sixth slot in the field of 12 jumpers and failed to retain the Bronze which she had won at Manchester Games in 2002.

The Indian star had a heart-breaking World Indoor championships in Moscow where, she alleged, officials had bungled in giving her lower marks of 6.34m and 6.33m when she had jumped beyond the automatic qualifying mark of 6.55m on her second and third jumps.

In the women's 800m, India's hope Pinki Pramanik could not capture the opportunity of the slow race when she remained struck in the group till 700m mark. Zulia Calatayud of Cuba won the race in 2:00.06s beating season leader Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya by just 0.03s. Janeth clocked 2:00.09 to win silver medal while Russian Olga Kotlyarova took third place with 2:00.84s.

Pinki finished on the seventh position with 2:03.28s.

In between, the Indians did well in an event in which they virtually had no competition. They dominated the track and field in the SAF games held in Sri Lanka.

But all their so called preparations and ''big talk'' by the Federation were thoroughly exposed in Doha where they won 9 medals including one Gold (Santhi Soundarajan's silver was withdrawn).

India had won 17 medals, including ten Gold in Busan Asian Games and it was a tremendous fall in terms of both performance and medal in the latest edition of Asiad.

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