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August 27, 2004

Anju Bobby George places sixth in long jumpSports

Indian medal hope Anju Bobby George set a personal best and broke the Indian national record with her sixth-place finish in the long jump at the Olympics.

Vinod has rightly complained about the unsupportive Indian press, but the Indian Express had kind words for George:

It may have been a failure for Anju Bobby George. But it was a success story for Indian athletics… In fact her 6.83 was better than her own national mark of 6.74 which she had done twice.

And the Times of India sent this valentine:

It’s alright, Anju, you are our Athena

She aroused great passions among Indian sports fans just as sprint queen P T Usha had two decades ago… To her credit, Anju kept her cool and pushed herself to the limit. In the end, Anju Bobby George achieved what she was meant to: break through a mental threshold for millions of Indians.

Meanwhile, the women’s 4x400 relay team, a.k.a. the Secret Punjabi-Malayalee Sprinters Alliance of Rajwinder Kaur, Manjeet Kaur, K.M. Beenamol and Chitra Soman, qualified for the finals, just as a previous women’s 4x400 team did in Los Angeles in ‘84.

Update: Mango Swami observed their shapely modesty:

[T]hey were the only team not wearing those skimpy bikini running shorts. Forget cutting-edge aerodynamics, we kick it old school, Umbro shorts and waist-length plaits.

Update 2: The relay team placed seventh in the finals after their anchor, Manjeet Kaur, fell ill and had to be replaced with an alternate.

manish on August 27, 2004 08:10 PM in Sports · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post



2 comments

 1 · kurian on August 29, 2004 06:10 AM · Direct link · “Quote”(?)

the Secret Punjabi-Malayalee Sprinters Alliance of Rajwinder Kaur, Manjeet Kaur, K.M. Beenamol and Soman Chitra, qualified for the finals, just as a previous women’s 4x100 team did in Los Angeles in ‘84.

That should be the 4x400. They ran slower in the final than in the semis because manjeet kaur fell ill and couldn't run. They didn't come last: but that was only because the greek team screwed up a baton transfer. [ http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200408291318.htm ]


 2 · Manish Vij on August 29, 2004 01:22 PM · Direct link · “Quote”(?)
That should be the 4x400.

Thanks, fixed. The original source, the Indian Express, got not only the event wrong but also the name of one of the runners.


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