Following on PT Usha’s footsteps, can MP Jabir rewrite history in Tokyo?
The sprinter from Kerala is an Indian Navy employee and trains in naval facilities
Madari Palliyalil Jabir became the first athlete since PT Usha to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m hurdles category. In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Usha represented India in the event but crashed out in the heats after clocking 59.55s. She had missed on a bronze medal by a whisker four years earlier.
After 33 years, an Indian will participate in the event and the expectations are high from the Kerala-based athlete.
How did MP Jabir qualify for Olympics?
The 25-year-old qualified for the mega event courtesy of his world ranking. He was ranked 32 in the Race to Tokyo rankings, wherein a maximum of 40 athletes could have qualified.
He clocked 49.78s in the Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala, which was the last competitive race before the Olympics. However, his personal best timing is 49.13 which he achieved during the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. This also earned him a place at the 2019 World Athletics but the sprinter was ousted in the semifinals.
What can we expect from Jabir?
Although Jabir is the fastest in the country, he has a bit of work to do if he has to progress from the first round to the next. His best this year remains 49.78s while the slowest athlete who progressed to the semifinals in Rio was Brazils's Mahau Suguimatiwho clocked 49.77s.
If he can perform anywhere near his personal best (49.13s), he can create history by becoming the first male athlete to progress to the next round in 400m hurdles.
Who all have qualified for the Olympics in 400m hurdles for India?
He will be the fourth male athlete to participate in the event. The first one to do so was S Abdul Hamid during the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. He finished seventh in heats and was knocked out. After a gap of 28 years, Jagdev Singh qualified for this event in 1956 and he finished fifth in heats with a timing of 55.2s. Whereas in 1964, Amrit Pal represented India but he also could not progress beyond the heats as he finished seventh in his pool with a timing of 53.3s.
When is MP Jabir in action at Tokyo 2020?
Jabir will be in action in the heats of 400m hurdles on Friday, July 30.