By K. P. Mohan
Asia collected 13 medals in athletics at the Rio Olympics five years ago, China contributing six of them. Can the tally be improved upon this time as Asia hosts its fourth edition of the Olympic Games in Tokyo?
Athletics is the crowd-puller of the Olympic Games. The excitement never dies once track and field action begins in a Games. It will open on Friday, July 30 this time and run up to the last day of the Games, August 8, which will feature the men’s marathon.
It is unfortunate the world is in the grip of a pandemic when the Games are on. Athletics, like almost all sports, has suffered in its build-up for the Games, perhaps more so in terms of athletes being stymied in their efforts to gain competitive exposure in the run-up to the Games because of travel restrictions and cancellation of important championships.
However, thanks to the wholehearted efforts of the World Athletics (WA) in re-arranging a curtailed calendar and that of the host federations in conducting meetings in trying circumstances the world of athletics is ready to put up its best foot forward.
Because of the rise in summer temperatures expected in the Japanese Capital, the marathon and racewalking events were shifted to Sapporo from Tokyo two years ago. Recent reports suggested temperatures had reached record levels there too but there would hopefully be respite when the events get underway there a week from now.
Sapporo key to Japan’s success in athletics at home
Sapporo will hold the key to Japan’s major success in athletics in the Olympic Games. In fact, it should also provide the Chinese with their best chance to boost the medal collection. For, racewalking is where the both the countries have near-complete domination over the rest.
Toshikazu Yamanishi, world champion in 20km walk two years ago in Doha, heads his country’s aspirations at Sapporo. He is No. 2 in the year’s lists with his 1:17:20 at the National championships in Kobe in February.
Keeping him close company could be team-mates Eiki Takahashi and Koki Ikeda, both within the top-10 at the 2019 World championships. Takahashi has a season best 1:18:04 at fifth in the world lists while Ikeda is seventh with 1:18:45. Familiar surroundings not to speak of their good form may well push the three Japanese to fill the podium this time.
Ready to throw a spanner in the Japanese wheels could be season leader Wang Kaihua of China, who posted a national record of 1:16:54 at his National championships in March to make his strong claim for the Olympic title. He was seventh at the 2017 World championships and eighth two years later.
The Rio Olympics silver medallist Cai Zelin was second to Wang Kaihua at the National at Huangshan with a personal best 1:17:39. The 30-year-old Cai Zelin will be competing in his third successive Olympics.
Twenty-three-year-old Zhang Jun will complete the Chinese line-up of a formidable racewalking team with all of them having clocked below 1:18 this season.
One man who can spoil the Japanese-Chinese party could be 31-year-old Swede Perseus Karlstrom who was third in Doha two years ago. He would be into this second Olympics, having failed to finish in Rio. He has a season best of 1:18:45. Turkey’s Salih Korkmaz (season best 1:18:42), who was fifth in Doha could be another one to watch out for. ROC athlete Vasiliy Mizinov, silver winner at Doha, could also be hoping to upset the favourites.
The Japanese and the Chinese may also have heavy stakes in the 50km event, though in this distance they are likely to be challenged more intensely by the others.
Two Japanese, Satoshi Maruo and Hayato Katsuki top the season lists with 3:38:42 and 3:42:34. World champion Yusuke Suzuki had pulled himself out of contention for the team citing lack of preparations paving the way for the inclusion of Katsuki. The third member of the team is Masatora Kawano who has a personal best of 3:36:45 clocked back in 2019 which ensured his Olympic qualification.
World record holder Yohann Diniz, the 43-year-old Frenchman, and defending Olympic champion Matej Toth of Slovakia are expected to challenge the Japanese and the Chinese over the gruelling distance amidst uncertainty over the rising temperatures.
An array of Chinese heads the women’s 20km standings also for the season. Yang Jiayu (1:23:49), Liu Hong (1:24:27) and Qieyang Shijie (1:24:45) at the top of the lists present a formidable look. The Chinese had swept the medals in this event at the World championships in Doha. There could be a repeat at Sapporo. Brazil’s Erica Sena, Columbia’s Sandra Arenas and ROC’s Elvira Khasonova are the other prominent contenders with Kumiko Okada and Nanako Fuji providing the home challenge.
Barshim & Gong Lijiao going for maiden Olympic titles
Outside of racewalking, Asia has two reigning world champions in this Olympics, Qatar’s magnificent high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim and China’s woman shot putter Gong Lijiao. Both are looking for their first Olympic titles.
Barshim came back from a serious ankle injury in 2018 to clinch the World title in front of cheering home fans in Doha in 2019 with a world-leading effort of 2.37m. He had competed in just three meets in the run-up to the Worlds but pulled it off in great style. The 30-year-old Qatari was edged by Canadian Derek Drouin 2.38 to 2.36 in the Rio Olympics. He had shared the silver in London with two others at 2.29m.
The task this time looks tougher for the Qatari than ever before, but he is a big stage performer and Asia can hope that once again he would hold the flag high for the continent. His best this season is 2.30m, done on three occasions including one in Tokyo in May. The Qatari, Asian junior champion in 2010, Asian champion in 2011 and Asian Games champion in 2010 and 2014, has jumped over 2.40m on 11 occasions since 2013 with a best of 2.43m at Brussels in September 2014.
Ilya Ivanyuk (season best 2.37m) of ROC, Maksim Nedasekau (2.37m) of Belarus and JuVaughn Harrison (2.36m) of the US could be Barshim’s closest challengers.
![Gong Lijiao wins first shot put world title and China's first gold in London[4]- Chinadaily.com.cn](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20170810/64006a484da31af5dbf90f.jpg)
Gong Lijiao, 32, has not been beaten since May 2019 over 17 finals. The 32-year-old Chinese has three throws over 20 metres, one of which, 20.39m she posted at Chongqing in June this year.
The Chinese was silver winner in the London Games behind New Zealand’s Valerie Adams and finished fourth in Rio with a 19.39m with the last three throws being fouls. American Michelle Carter took the gold at 20.63, an area record, with Adams taking silver at 20.42m.
Adams is back. Mother of two, aged 36, the Kiwi did 19.75m on 11 July to share the fourth spot in the world lists. She still may trouble the best, but the Chinese looks strongly placed to win her maiden Olympic title. Upsets can occur of course like Carter pulled one off in Rio.
American Jessica Ramsey won the Olympic trials at 20.12m with Raven Sanders second at 19.96m. Portuguese Auriol Dongmo is joint fourth with Adams at 19.75m.
Chinese chance in women’s javelin
The Chinese should also be hoping that their women javelin throwers, Asian record holder Lyu Huihui (67.98m) and Liu Shiying (PB 65.88) would come good at the Olympics.
Lyu Huihui had made the finals in the last two editions and was silver medallist at the World championships in 2015 and bronze medallist in 2017 and 2019. She has a season best of 66.55m in April but later in the season she showed a slump that should be causing some concern back home.
Neeraj Chopra in javelin carries the hopes of 1.35 billion Indians. Independent India has never won an athletics medal in the Olympics and Chopra, a strapping 23-year-old from India’s Northern State of Haryana promises to take a minor medal behind the irrepressible Johannes Vetter of Germany in men’s javelin.
Chopra posted a national record of 88.07m in a domestic competition in March this year. Vetter, in the meantime, has recorded seven throws over 90 metres this season, with a season best of 96.29m, though in the last two meets he was slightly down in his performance.
Chopra will have to battle it out with a few others, notably Poland’s Marcin Krukowski (season best 89.55m), 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago (89.12m) and world champion Anderson Peters (83.46m). Anyone else from among others may also be able to come into the medal recokoning. Despite a limited competition schedule imposed by the pandemic, Chopra has expressed confidence that he would get the medal the country is eagerly looking forward to.
Notwithstanding the focus on the expected clash of the top two 400m hurdlers, Kartsen Warholm of Norway, who has the world record under his belt this season, and American Rai Benjamin, the event can also provide Qatar with a medal. Abderrahman Samba has not done anything sensational this season but he is right there among possible medal contenders in the 400m hurdles. He has a modest season best of 48.26s after having skipped the 2020 season. He had taken the bronze (48.03s) behind Warholm and Benjamin in Doha in 2019.
A 21-year-old Japanese, Shunzuke Izumiya (PB and SB 13.06s) is the surprise number two in the world lists behind American Grant Holloway. Defending Olympic champion Omar McLeod could not make it from the Jamaican National and Izumiya has the chance for a medal in front of home fans if he can live up to the promise.
There is a long list of possible contenders for a semifinal spot in the men’s 100m led by Japanese Ryota Yamagata (season best 9.95s) and Chinese Su Bingtian (9.98s), 2018 Asian Games champion, who has two sub-10 this season both at home. Significantly he has preferred to compete at home only this season after having hit the international circuit in 2018 and 2019. Others in the 100m entries include Chinese Xie Zhenye and Qatar’s Femi Ogunode.
Bahrain’s Winfred Mutlie Yavi (9:02.64) is the second best woman steeplechaser in the season lists behind Ethiopian Mekides Abebe (9:02.52). In an open-looking field Yavi has a chance to aim for a medal from among Kenyans Betrice Chepkoech, world record holder, and Hyvin Kiyeng and American Emma Coburn.
Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Dubovitskaya (2.00m) and Uzbek Svetlana Radzivil (1.97m) are the leading high jumpers of the season from Asia who could be hoping to make it to the final.
India’s Kamalpreet Kaur, with an effort of 66.59m in discus caused quite a stir at home, so much so she has been projected as a medal contender alongside the likes of Croatian Sandra Perkovic, two-time Olympic and World champion, and Cuban Yaime Perez, world champion in Doha. The top two this season are relatively lesser known compared to Perkovic and Perez with Dutchwoman Jorinder van Klinken (70.22m) and American Valeria Allan (70.01m) surprisingly going past 70.0m. Kaur’s best chance would be to make the final along with team-mate Seema Antil who would be looking for her first entry into final in her fourth appearance in the Olympics.
Asian record holder Wang Zheng of China has her experience to back her in hammer throw and can sneak in a medal. She has not been in great form this season having only a best of 73.55m but her reputation as a three-medal winner in the World championships needs consideration.
In the relays, Japan must be hoping to produce the Rio magic in the men’s 4x100m where it took the silver in 2016. China could be another contender in sprint relay. India has the second best season timing of 3:01.89 behind the US (3:00.75) in men’s 4x400m, but it looks doubtful whether they can repeat that in the Olympics to go through to the final at least.
The pandemic has robbed the Games of spectators. Athletes might feel it strange to perform before near-empty stands. But there can be no greater motivation than the thought of claiming an Olympic medal. Like Filipino Ernest John Obiena, Asian pole vault champion (season best and national record 5.87m), could be hoping that he could be the one to add to his country’s two-bronze tally in Olympic athletics. Philippines’s only medals have been two bronze, one each achieved in 1932 and 1936. History beckons ‘EJ’ as he is popularly called.
