Vishal, India's ace sprinter not in Commonwealth Games camp

Patiala, Nov 25 (UNI) Sprint coaches in the ongoing National athletic coaching camp here in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, are all fire and brimstone over the exclusion of the country's ace sprinter Vishal Saxena -the current national champion.

Silver medallist in South Asian Games at Colombo in 2006 in 200m and gold medallist in 4x100m, Vishal Saxena is the finest prospect for Commonwealth Games, according to his coaches, and yet he has not been called for the camp which is an enigma to one and all.

SAI Centre of Excellence (CoE) trainee at Patiala, Vishal Saxena has world-class parameters to perform at the highest level. He is 181 cm tall, weighs 75 kg and has 7 per cent fat content. SAI scientific officer in Bio-mechanics at Bangalore, Dr Animesh Goel, made a thorough study of Vishal Saxena's capabilities as a sprinter and pointed out that biomechanically, he is an exception, a cut above all.

National sprint coaches Suresh Saini and Vajir Singh too speak very highly of Vishal Saxena and wonder why he is not in the camp.

One therefore fails to understand what has prompted the Athletic Federation of India (AFI) to ignore such a talented sprinter. Is it sports politics or vendetta? MORE UNI XC-HS MMS1623