Muhammed Anees was a really energetic child. And so Ansar, who had coached his older brother Muhammed Anas, felt the teenager ought to strive out athletics too.
But since the services at Kollam’s Nilamel village, the place he lived, weren’t ample, Anees left for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the place he was chosen without delay. He started as a excessive jumper and sampled the 400m hurdles after a suggestion from SAI coach Nishad Kumar earlier than a multi-event junior competitors modified his life without end.
Finding his calling
“I did the octathlon and did very well in the long jump. Seeing this, my coach Nishad advised me to focus on the long jump,” mentioned Anees. “I couldn’t settle down in the high jump, I couldn’t get a proper arch in the Fosbury flop and so I started taking the long jump seriously.”
He was nearly 19 when he took to the new occasion however was quickly producing high quality. He claimed silver at the Vijayawada Junior Nationals in 2014 (7.20m). After ending runner-up at the 2016 Inter-State Nationals in Hyderabad (7.64m), he clinched gold at the year-ending National Open.
“Somehow, 2016 made me a confident long jumper. Apart from the Inter-State silver, I also did 7.80 in an Indian Grand Prix meet [in Bengaluru] that year,” he mentioned.
The commonplace bearers: Jeswin Aldrin and M. Sreeshankar, Anees says, have achieved a world of good for Indian lengthy bounce, forcing others to enhance and sustain. | Photo credit score: Special Arrangement
With the Rio Olympics beckoning, 2016 was a magical 12 months for a lot of. Anas broke the 400m nationwide document in Poland. Ankit Sharma bettered the nationwide lengthy bounce document with a then eye-popping 8.19m in Kazakhstan. So, Anees was not quick of inspiration throughout that interval.
Surprisingly, the lengthy bounce has superior by leaps and bounds since Rio 2016. Jeswin Aldrin (8.42m, nationwide document) and M. Sreeshankar (8.41) occupied the high two rungs on this 12 months’s world listing for months earlier than slipping to No. 3 and 4. This 12 months alone, three males — V.Ok. Elakkiyadasan (8.09), P. David (8.05) and S. Lokesh (8.02) — entered Indian lengthy bounce’s 8m membership.
Anees joined this membership at the 2021 Federation Cup in Patiala and now has a private greatest of 8.15m, which first got here in March 2022 at the Indian Open Jumps Meet in Thiruvananthapuram. That positioned him fourth in the all-time Indian listing behind Aldrin (8.42, 2023), Sreeshankar (8.41, 2023) and Ankit (8.19, 2016). He now has 4 8.15m jumps to his credit score, together with the one which fetched him gold at the season-ending National Games in Goa.
Injury woes
The 27-year-old, a havildar with Kerala Police, had been hit by accidents this season. He struggled to contact 8m for a big half of the 12 months earlier than returning to type in Goa.
“First, I had knee pain, I did not recover well and then I had hamstring and popliteus muscle issues,” he mentioned. “But there were meets one after another so I did not get much time for recovery. Thankfully, I was free of injuries at the National Games.”
While Sreeshankar and Jeswin stayed away from the National Games, weary after a protracted season, Anees was chasing an enormous goal in Goa.
“I was confident of qualifying for the Olympics [entry standard 8.27m], that was my goal. Had I not been confident of making the cut, I would not have gone to Goa. Unfortunately, it did not happen. I was in 8.30-plus form but I couldn’t get it,” mentioned Anees.
“I couldn’t get the runway correctly and couldn’t find the josh [stimulation] of the meet fully because many of the top guys were missing. When it gets tough, you are under pressure and that is when you can pull out your big jumps.”
Work in progress: His coaches really feel Anees, who completed fifth finally 12 months’s Commonwealth Games, nonetheless has lots of room for enchancment. | Photo credit score: Getty Images
Anees, who was fifth in the 2022 Commonwealth Games (7.97m), is now being coached by Anoop Joseph, a nationwide camp coach who guided Ancy Sojan to the ladies’s lengthy bounce silver at the Asian Games.
“I think I can do 8.30-plus, that is the plan,” mentioned Anees. “I’m not just looking to qualify for the Olympics, I’m also hoping to do well in Paris. In the long run, on a perfect day, I feel I can do 8.45m or more. In fact, at last year’s Federation Cup at Thenhipalam, I had a small foul in one of the jumps but it was close to 8.40m.”
Athletics followers leapt in pleasure that day as Aldrin (8.26m and a wind-assisted 8.37m, +4.1) and Sreeshankar (8.36m) produced world-class jumps, lighting up Thenhipalam.
Anees feels the presence of Sreeshankar and Aldrin has achieved a world of good for lengthy bounce in the nation.
“Only if you have somebody in front of you can you think of getting past him. If you don’t have anybody ahead of you, instead of competing in India, you will have to go abroad for competitions.
“But the main problem is, sometimes we peak early, especially when we have just two entries at events like the Asian Championships and Asian Games [three can qualify for the Olympics and Worlds]. And because of that, we are unable to produce our best jumps during a major competition.
“We cannot be at our peak in all competitions. If we peak early, and if we get a good gap, we can recover well, and then slowly get back to good form. If we have a competition [a qualifying meet] three months before a major meet that would be ideal.”
What the future holds
Anees, who certified for final 12 months’s Worlds in Oregon by the world rankings route, plans to prepare in India subsequent 12 months and go overseas for some competitions earlier than the Paris Olympics.
“We need to go abroad because most of the Indian competitions are ‘F’ category events which offer fewer ranking points. We need to compete in ‘B’ or ‘C’ category meets, which offer more points and make it easier to qualify for the Olympics through the world rankings route,” he mentioned.
Coach Anoop Joseph feels Anees, who’s supported by the GoSports Foundation, is a piece in progress.
“His speed has to improve a little more, he missed a lot of training because of the injuries. And some corrections in technique also need to be done, especially in the landing phase. And sometimes his upper body goes a bit too much to the front while taking off,” mentioned Joseph.
With Anees poised to bounce up a rung quickly, subsequent 12 months may see three of India’s all-time greatest lengthy jumpers battling it out on the highway to Paris. And as the nation’s No. 2 athletics occasion behind the javelin — in phrases of medal potential at the majors — the lengthy bounce is about for an thrilling future.
