National Games: Ajay shines bright despite power glitch

Panaji: Goa clinched its first long distance medal when Ajay Kumar secured a bronze in the men’s 5,000m category at the Athletic Stadium, Bambolim, on Sunday.

Ajay clocked 14:13:33, just enough to finish on the podium behind silver medallists Gavit Kumar (14:13:14) of Gujarat. There was no surprise when Gulveer Singh of Services crossed the finish line ahead of everyone else. Gulveer, after all, is the Asian Games bronze medallist in 10,000m.

It was a proud moment for Goa after the state won its first medal in athletics in the first finals on the opening day.

The athletes were lucky to finish their event just in time as the stadium saw a power failure just before the medal ceremony.

With no signs of the floodlights functioning, the organisers went ahead with the medal ceremony. Former athletics great and current Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha was the chief guest.

The venue remained in darkness for over 20 minutes as all events came to a standstill.

“It is serious mismanagement on part of the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG). They have not taken anyone into confidence in preparing the infrastructure. They were told to use high-capacity generator but clearly that didn’t happen,” a senior official told TOI.

Despite the power glitch, Ajay shone bright as the Army Sports Institute (ASI) athlete received his medal from PT Usha.

“Credit goes to his coaches. We are part of the team, but coaches have stood by him. Ajay’s medal has set the tone for Goa and will boost other athletes,” said Goa Athletic Association president Akhil Parrikar.

Ajay is trained by coaches Ranjan Kariappa and Sarish Paul, who have also trained Gulveer and other prominent Indian athletes at its facility in Pune.

Ajay followed his coaches’ strategy and remained glued with the leading pack. He led the race in the final 100m but lost steam when it mattered most as Gulveer changed gears and celebrated before crossing the finish line.