Less strides, more speed on Pragyan’s mind ahead of Asian Indoor Athletics

India’s third fastest woman hurdler Pragyan Prasanti Sahu can’t wait to compete at Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in China’s Tianjin from Feb 6-8.Not only her first meet outside the country, but the Tianjin meet will also be her maiden indoor competition where she will be competing in the 60m hurdles on the final day. Understanding that the outing will be a challenging one, Pragyan had been working under coach James Hillier in Mumbai over the past few months, with her primary focus being on reducing the number of strides before the first hurdle.Speaking to TOI from Bhubaneswar, where she also trained for a couple of weeks at the Indoor Athletics track alongside the other Indian athletes, Pragyan said, “Eight strides is common to attack the first hurdle, and I was doing that for the last three years. But I was getting too close to the first hurdle, and I was in the air for a long time which was killing my speed and acceleration.”Pragyan has now changed it to seven strides, and admitted she has had to tweak lots of other things to get the balance right. “I have had to change the starting leg and stride pattern, increase the speed and put more force in order to get the rhythm right,” said Pragyan.The hurdler from Balasore has also been trying to achieve maximum speed midway into the run rather than towards the end. Reducing the number of strides has helped her to achieve that. In addition, she has been working on reducing the airtime of the ‘trail leg’ — the following foot over the hurdle and is whipped through to the sides.Keeping aside the technical changes, the 26-year-old said she worked on improving her strength. “I have improved my strength. I’m far better than last year. I don’t think it matters but when you are injured and are not able to do anything, then you remember about strength and that it is important,” said Pragyan.Pragyan knows a thing or two about injuries.Although she enjoyed success last year — the 100m hurdles title at Indian Open World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour in Bhubaneswar apart from a few national meets — she suffered from a hip flexor tear in her right leg. She even endured a fractured back during the lockdown while working out at the gym in her hometown.Pragyan would, however, like to put all this behind and focus on the Asian Games later this year, where she hopes to finish on the podium. It is a tall task but with her personal best of 13.15 sec and a bronze medal-winning time of 13.04 at the last Asiad, it may not be impossible after all.