Indian athletes to train in Durban

Sajeesh Joseph never imagined he would represent India in athletics till he turned 18.

Joseph was happy to win medals in local meets before he moved to Pala, a small town in Kottayam district in Kerala. His first medal of any note came at a junior district meet - a bronze in the 800m. The son of a pineapple farmer, Joseph had no idea he would travel to South Africa to single-mindedly train for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Joseph was recently promoted from clerk to senior clerk by Southern Railways. “My best timing in the 800m is 1 minute and 47.42s,” Joseph said.

His passion for the event is evident when Joseph gives out his email ID. It goes sajees800m@...

The 22-year-old’s timing in the meet is impressive keeping in mind that Sriram Singh’s National record, set at the 1976 Montreal Games, stands at 1:45.22.

Joseph is one of the eight athletes heading for Durban to train under Marc Labuschagne, the former South African national track and field coach.

These athletes, including Sinimole Paulose, a bronze medalist at the Doha Asian Games, will shift their training base to Durban with an aim to excel at the London Games. They are being supported by the Mittal Champions Trust, which will invest approximately $170,000 on the programme every year till the Games.

These youngsters were picked during a selection trial in Kochi from a pool of 28 athletes shortlisted in consultation with the Athletics Federation of India.

Chinchu Jose, a 400 and 800m runner, who was part of the relay team which won the gold in the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games, said: “This is a golden opportunity for me. I have already been to South Africa for a 20-day training camp and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”