Triple jumper Selva finds his groove in the USA

CHENNAI: From the high of a World Athletics U-20 Championships silver medal in 2022 to the frustration of injury setbacks, triple jumper Selva Prabhu’s journey has been anything but smooth. After multiple obstacles, the 21-year-old clinched silver with a national record of 17.05m at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, North Carolina, last week.

Selva, a student at the Kansas State University, took the collegiate route in Feb last year and in his one-year stay so far in the USA, he has been injury free. The athlete from Madurai finished fifth at the NCAA Outdoors last year, and he believes that breaching the 17m mark in the Indoors is just the start of what is in store for the season. Selva consistently hit the 16.50m-mark in the three competitions prior to the NCAA Indoors.

“My main focus this year is on the Commonwealth and Asian Games. I wanted to be fit for the NCAA Indoors and cross the 17m mark, which I managed to do. The off-season went really well, as we focused extensively on running (hill training). The volume of running I did was quite high, and compared to my training in India, where I focused mainly on jumps, this was a big change. I had some issues with my run-up earlier, but we have now worked on it,” Selva told TOI from the USA.

“During my initial competitions in the NCAA, I was nervous and had a lot of pressure as the athletes I was competing against were top-class. Now, I have learned how to handle pressure and in the final (NCAA Indoors), it did not affect me because I have the experience of competing in several events. I get to learn from top-level players and observe them closely,” Selva added.

What has changed for Selva after moving to the USA is that he has remained injury-free. In India, he could only compete at 80 to 90% fitness (from 2023 to 2025) and was unable to put in his full effort. “I knew that I could perform but the injuries kept troubling me. That was one of the reasons why I moved to the USA as they take good care of athletes and have a good programme. Now that I have broken the school record in the NCAA Indoors, I will get more attention. Also, the training method in India did not suit me.”

To secure a place in the CWG, Selva must compete in the Federation Cup in May. He is expected to travel to India next month for a couple of events along with the CWG qualifiers. However, with an important outdoor meet in the USA scheduled around the same time, Selva plans to sit down with his coach and map out the best course of action.

As for the Asian Games, competing in the Inter-State Athletics meet in July is mandatory, and Selva said that he will be able to attend the competition without any hassle, as the NCAA Outdoor season will conclude in June.