GANDHINAGAR: The names of Olympic champion Anier Garcia and two-time World Championships medallist, Yoandri Betanzos Francis, might not ring a bell for an average Indian sports fan. But, in the world of athletics, they have been among the most revered track and field stars and coaches.
The two Cuban Olympians were spotted at the National Games Gujarat on the concluding day of athletics competitions here, guiding their pupils to the medal glory at the country's premier multi-sport meet. TOI caught up with them at IIT Gandhinagar, the venue for the athletics events, for a chat to understand their training methods which has helped shape up the country's NextGen of hurdlers, jumpers and sprinters.
For starters, Garcia and Francis have been training the likes of Jeswin Aldrin, Eldhose Paul, Abdulla Aboobacker, Tejas Shirse, Yashwanth Kumar, Kanimozhi, Sharvari Parulekar, Praveen Chithravel and Arpinder Singh, among others.
"It's been eight months in India and you can see the results at the World Championships (Lausanne) and in Birmingham CWG. Jeswin and Praveen had qualified for the Worlds while Eldhose, Abdulla and Praveen were among the top-four at the men's triple jump. It's our first time in India and the country has immense potential in athletics. We are here to identify and nurture the young talent," said Garcia, who is a two-time Olympic medallist, having won the gold in the men's 110m hurdles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and bronze in Athens four years later.
Francis, who trains the jump athletes, won silver at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, and at the 2005 edition in Helsinki. He participated in two Olympic Games - Athens (2004) and London (2012) - with his best finish being fourth in the men's triple jump in Athens.
"Indians are developing athletes. They are talented but need guidance and a proper training programme. We have a responsibility to show them the right direction. Over the years, the jump athletes have been doing a wonderful job and we are hopeful of a good number of athletes qualifying for the Paris Olympics," said Francis, also a two-time Pan American Games champion.
Before landing in India, the two have been training national athletics teams of Mexico and Cuba. Indian athletes are coming up with encouraging results at the CWG and Asian Games. But, when it comes to the Olympics, the country has just Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra to showcase its athletics credentials. So, where are we missing the trick?
"Olympics is not always about winning the gold or any other medal. Even qualifying for the Games is an achievement in itself. How many in the world can say that we competed in the Olympics? But, having said that, one should develop the winning mentality and aspire to be the champion one day. The hunger has to come from within. Nowadays, the Indian track and field athletes have been getting the financial support to go abroad and train with the best in the business. That should help," added Garcia.
Zeel wins women's singles gold in tennis; Aneesh secures 200m freestyle title in swimming
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat's tennis player, Zeel Desai, stepped up in the absence of experienced Ankita Raina to help the host state retain the women's singles gold on the final day of tennis competitions. The third-seed Zeel was leading Karnataka's Sharmada Balu 6-2, 3-2 when the latter conceded the match due to an ankle injury.
In aquatics, teen star Aneesh Gowda got the better of veteran Sajan Prakash and immensely talented Aryan Nehra to win the 200m freestyle gold, with a new National Games record time of 1:51.88 in Rajkot. Aneesh has been extremely happy in the past few weeks. He notched up personal best times in two of the three freestyle events that he raced in at Lima, Peru in the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships. From there, he flew to Guwahati for the SFI National Championships where he won three gold after missing the opening day's competition.
In badminton, former national champion B Sai Praneeth of Telangana will take on Karnataka's Mithun Manjunath in the men's singles badminton final in Surat on Thursday. Top-seed Malvika Bansod of Maharashtra will be up against second-seed Aakarshi Kashyap of Chhattisgarh in the women's singles summit clash.
