Lack of pre-season preparation affected performance: Arpinder

CHANDIGARH: Asian Games gold medalist Arpinder Singh is one of the finest examples of how the future of a gifted athlete can go wayward, if not groomed properly. After a stop-start career, the triple jumper is finally finding his pace under the French coach Antony Yaich at the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS), Vijay Nagar.
Arpinder, who became the first Indian in 48 years to win a gold in the triple jump event at the Jakarta Asian games last year, was also the first Indian to win a medal at the IAAF Continental Cup.The triple jumper has cited lack of proper preparation in the pre-season as the reason for his recent below-par performance.
“I spent two months in the US, then I was called back by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in March to participate in the Federation Cup in Patiala. My performance in the Federation Cup was bad. I wanted to go back to Chula Vista immediately, in March itself. I spent three months at the NIS, Patiala, but the approval from SAI never came. The lack of preparation in the pre-season has affected my performances this year,” Arpinder told TOI.
The 26-year-old Arpinder, who jumped 16.83m while winning gold in the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Lucknow in September, however, failed to match the World Championship qualifying standard, which was 16.95m.
“My body was not responding well. I was getting tired after just or two jumps during the competitions. Despite such a chaotic schedule I managed to get 16.83m, which is the only positive I am taking from this year,” said Arpinder.
With just nine months to go for the Tokyo Olympics, the Amritsar lad is definitely running against time to secure an Olympic quota.
“It’s too far now. I am not even thinking about it. My only aim is to work hard in this pre-season and remain injury free. It has been a good eight months for me under Yaich. He has told me that I am lacking speed in my final jump. I have worked on it, the process is still on,” said Arpinder, who has a personal best of 17.17m.
“The good thing about Yaich is that he understands that there are only a few months left for the Olympics. If we change everything, my performance will be affected. Going by my history we all know what change my technique needs," he added.