Hands on his hips, pursing his lips, Inderjeet Singh made no attempt to hide his disappointment. For once, the giant shot-putter had failed to keep his promise.
The Indian champion, who became the first from the country to enter the shot put final at the World Championships, ended in 11th place after a fine performance in the qualifying round earlier in the day.
Inderjeet could manage only 19.52M in the final but still, his placing was the best by an Asian at the World Championships, equalling Qatari Bilal Saad Mubarak’s effort in 1995. That was little consolation for the 27-year-old, who had won eight successive gold medals this year.
No one was expecting gold or medal of any colour from Inderjeet but after reaching the final with his second-best career performance of 20.47 metres, there was a hope of a better show in the final. That was also the promise he made, earlier in the day.
“After coming this far, the hope was there that I would be able to go further, and I feel sad because of that. Perhaps it was not my day,” said Inderjeet.
“It shows I have to work harder, and I am going to do that.”
Inderjeet started with a 19.52M effort, fouled his next throw and finished with an 18.68M throw. The 11th place after three rounds meant he didn’t get the three additional throws reserved for the top eight.
“I didn’t feel any pressure but nothing worked for me tonight. I really wanted to deliver a big throw, go past 21 metres. Perhaps I overreached a bit, and that might have spoiled it,” he said.
Personal best
Inderjeet had finished fourth in his qualifying group and eighth overall (across two groups) to enter the final, proclaiming his intention to find his personal best in the final. “Everyone knows I am not in the medal bracket here, but I can fight and excel. That is the aim,” he had said.
The evening painted a different picture though, and Inderjeet said he need to compete more internationally to raise his level. “I am planning to go to Pennsylvania for training once the funds from TOP scheme is released. I need more competitions also. Perhaps, the lack of experience at this level mattered tonight,” he said.
American Joe Kovacs won the gold with a penultimate round effort of 21.93 metres, dashing the hat-trick hopes of German David Storl, who picked up silver at 21.74.
