Satinder stays grounded

Not yet in proper shape, admits beaten Abraham

“I am not yet in proper shape, I have a bigger goal in mind,” said the Asian Games champion, who was pushed to second place by Satinder Singh of Punjab. “He has been training well and ran a good race. I knew he would do well here.”

Satinder and Abraham have been familiar foes and also train under the same coach, Rajinder Singh, at the national camp. The senior pro has always had the better of the exchanges but there was no bitterness as the trend was reversed on Monday.

While Abraham was all praise for Satinder, the younger man expressed his admiration for the former in clear terms. “Joseph bhai is preparing with the Olympic Games in mind. He has not done his speed work and that allowed me to upstage him today,” said a modest Satinder about the national-record holder.

“Every time I run with him, I learn a thing or two. He is also very generous in giving tips and that has helped me improve. I wish every senior was like him, guiding and helping the juniors.”

The 23-year-old Northern Railway employee from Ludhiana had finished third behind Kulvinder Singh and Abraham at the National Games earlier this year when he clocked his best of 50.39 seconds. On Monday, his goal was to win and as such, the time of 51.13 didn’t really matter.

“Joseph bhai was behind me in lane two, so I had to run my own race instead of following him,” said Satinder, who took off well from lane four and ran steadily before delivering the final blow at the tenth hurdle.

A former junior national champion in the 110M hurdles, Satinder said he has bigger goals to achieve. “Winning a national title was my aim. Having achieved that, I want to learn and improve further,” he said.