‘Concentrate on your hurdles’ - The legendary PT Usha has some advice for trailblazer MP Jabir
Usha was the last Indian before Jabir to qualify for the 400m hurdles at the Olympics...
When Madari Palliyalil Jabir takes to the track on July 30th for his 400m hurdles event at Tokyo 2020, he will be following in the footsteps of a legend.
The last Indian to participate in the same event at the Olympics was the legendary PT Usha who did so at Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988. And she came mighty close to a medal in 1984, probably the closest an Indian athlete has ever come to a track and field medal at the Olympics.
She missed out by 1/100th of a second, finishing fourth in what turned out to be a heartbreak.
While it would be unfair to expect Jabir to emulate what Usha did, he will go into the event with confidence. And Usha herself has a few words of motivation for the 25-year-old.
The Keralite pointed out Jabir’s performance in the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha where he had managed to reach the semifinals.
“Jabir did well in the 2019 World Athletics. He reached the semifinals. He had performed at a similar level in the run up to Tokyo 2020 as well,” Usha told Olympics.com.
“There will be good competition at the Olympics. I'm expecting a better performance from him in Tokyo.”
Jabir, in many ways, is breaking new grounds. He is the first Indian in 33 years to participate in the 400m hurdles at the Olympics, he is also only the fourth Indian male athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics in this event.
Usha felt that Jabir has to concentrate on his own hurdles to excel at an event that she described as ‘unique’.
“Hurdles is a very unique event. You have to concentrate on your own hurdles and not on how others are doing. You must not be distracted.
“The first 3 hurdles are crucial. The next two should be controlled. And acceleration should come after that and you must push through till the end. And after all hurdles are done, in the last 40 metres, you must run full tilt and tip your body forward at the line.
“If I had done that effectively back in 1984, probably we would’ve won a medal,” she stated.
Usha also noted that Jabir is in very good form and if he performs to his best, he will reach the semifinals at least.
“That would be my advice to him and I think he will be able to do better and reach the semifinals at least. He was doing very well during the trials here and clearing the hurdles very well. He's in form.”