All smoke, no fire
Some of the best shot-putters of the world,
in both men's and women's sections, will be seen in action at the ITC
International Athletic Meet at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi beginning September 16 - if, that is, the meet goes ahead as planned.
The Delhi government has, of late, been making some rather interesting noises - centering around the fact that there is an anti-smoking law in the national capital.
The government has taken objection to the involvement of ITC, a cigarette major, in the meet. And what's more, it now wants the meet renamed the 'ITC Anti-smoking International
Meet'.
The whole thing is part of a regulation that no advertisment
or publicity, in any form, is permitted for cigarette brands.
Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, who is the chief patron of the meet, brought up the matter at the organising
committee meeting on Thursday evening. And though, in the ensuing discussions - at times heated - it was pointed out that ITC
was a corporate house involved in multidimensional businesses and not merely a tobacco company, Verma seemed less than impressed.
At the meeting, it was further clarified that all instadia and external
advertising relating to the meet would only carry the ITC corporate logo and profile, and not the cigarette related advertising.
This however did not satisfy Verma, who said his government would accept nothing less than a change of name for the meet, incorporating 'anti-smoking'.
The chief minister surprised the committee members when he
disclosed that the state law secretary had pointed out the
legal implications of ITC being associated with the meet, given the anti-smoking laws in force in the capital.
With just four days left for kick off, there's lots of hectic parlaying going on in a bid to find a solution - which becomes all the more imperative given that some 145 international athletes, including many world and
Olympic champions, have thus far confirmed their participation.
Interestingly, Amateur Athletic Federation of India
president Suresh Kalmadi is on record as saying this will be the last ITC-sponsored meet. From next year, India is
likely to be granted Gand Prix status by the International
Amateur Athletic Federation - which means there will be frantic bidding for sponsorship rights.
Back to the athletes expected, and twice world shot put champion John Godina of the United States leads the parade. But he is bound to have a tough time in
maintaining his reputation, given that main challenger Aleksandr Bagach of the Ukraine is also expected to participate.
The 31-year old ukranian was stripped of his gold at the World Championships in Athens for ephedrine violation, an offence which
under the revised IAAF regulations attracts a public warning
instead of a three-month suspension as under previous rules.
Bagach has since expressed his innocence, and he will have a
chance to prove his calibre all over again when he goes up against Godina here.
A bronze medalist at the Atlanta Olympics as well as the 1993
Stuttgart World Championships, Bagach has a personal best of 21.47
metres as against godina's 22.00 metres.
Godina and Bagach may not have everything going their way on
September 16, though, since a strong field has been assembled in the men's
shot put competition. Also in the fray will be Ukranian Uyriya
Belonog, who finished fourth at the Athens World Championships with
20.26 metres. He has a personal best of 21.02 m.
Other notable shot putters, who will complete the best ever lineup in this event in India will be Belarus national champion Andrey
Nichnievich, Kenyan Gideon Mengich and Iranian champion Ali Sayah. The Indian challenge will be mounted by two youngsters, 1996
Asian junior champion Mukesh Singh and Bahadur Singh.
Equally impressive is the women's star cast in the sport. Towering above everyone else will be German Astrid Kumbernuss,
who will be in the running for the women's overall Grand Prix title
at the finals in Fukuoka, Japan, on September 13. She is joint first, with Jamaican 400 m hurdler deon hemmings, both having 72 points.
Kumbernuss was unbeaten through 1995 and 1996, and her only loss this
season came at the World Indoor Championships in Paris at the hands of Ukranian
Vita Pavlysh.
The German has a best of 21.22 m, though her gold-winning performance at Athens measured only 20.21
metres. Kumbernuss will have to contend with her German team-mate
Stephanie Storp - who, at 1.94 m, is the tallest putter in the field, with a personal best of 20.34 metres. She was the silver medallist at the 1993 World Indoor
Championships and claimed the bronze at the Athens World
Championships with a throw of 19.22 metres, behind Kumbernuss and
Vita Pavlysh.
Valentina Fedyushina of Ukraine, another tall shot-putter, who is
as experienced as Strop, will also be in the fray. She has a personal best of 21.08 m.
Polish champion Krystyna Danilczyk, who was a finalist at Athens
and who has a best of 19.48 metres, and Romanian champion Lavita
Mehes, complete the formidable array of world class shot putters to
be seen in action in the meet.
As for India, it will be a great opportunity for Harbans Kaur and
Harpreet Kaut to compete against the best in the world, and hopefully to learn. And perhaps the occasion might help
Harbans stretch her national record of 17.06 m, set at the domestic
meet at Patiala last month.
UNI
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