What started as Milkha Singh's dominance and a respectable show on the global stage, India always suffered in the athletics category. Besides 'Flying Sikh' the only notable name that garnered a fan following was PT Usha in the 80s but India's resurgence was visible in 2022 and the performances proved that the future looks bright for most of the athletes.
India's golden boy Neeraj Chopra started the proceedings with a silver medal in World Championships in the USA. With this achievement, he surpassed Anju who won a bronze in 2003. With gold in Tokyo and silver in World Championships, the only glory he was eyeing was the diamond league title and with a win in the finals, he even achieved that.
With another medal on the cards, an injury before Commonwealth Games derailed a fantastic year for Neeraj but Neeraj proved his mettle by delivering on the big stage yet again. While Neeraj was aiming to surpass that 90m mark, he came close to doing that in Stockholm which Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem broke by a gigantic throw of 90.18 in Birmingham.
The Indian contingent went into the Commonwealth games without their poster boy Neeraj Chopra but the likes of Sreeshankar and Sable didn't disappoint as they won silver in their respective categories. But the biggest takeaway from Birmingham 2022 was the 1st and 2nd finishes by Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker in the men’s triple jump. The win ensured India's first medal in the category and due to that India had their 2nd best season in terms of medal haul after the 2010 Delhi CWG with one gold, four silver, and three bronze.
Tejaswin Shankar who had to fight for his spot made sure that his position wasn't to be questioned. With a bronze in the High jump, he strengthened India's position in the medal tally.
In addition to his success, Annu Rani won a bronze in the Javelin throw and Priyanka Goswami bagged silver in the women's 10,000 m race walk along with Sandeep Kumar who won bronze in the men's category.
While there were achievements we also had some moments that put a lot of athletes on the backseat. Kamalpreet Kaur, discus thrower received a 3-year ban for testing positive for a steroid. Shivpal Singh also got banned for four years after testing positive for the steroid Methandieonone in October 2021. National record holders Sekar Dhanalaxmi and Aishwarya Babu had to withdraw from CWG after testing positive in a dope test.
Arjuna awardee MR Poovamma also joined the list as she was banned for 2 years for testing positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon was the latest top athlete to be in the fray due to the wrong reasons.
While the athletics may have had a decent year in terms of glory but the doping suspensions tarnished the smooth year for Indian athletics. But with PT Usha being appointed as the president of the Indian Olympic Association a memorable year awaits India. With the 2024 Olympics in sight, India will be looking to continue the same performances and move towards a single goal.
