Indian athletics not on the track

AS Neeraj Chopra's javelin soared through the Parisian night sky in the final, it wasn't hard to wonder why that performance was a one-off in athletics.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

That Chopra has come to symbolise excellence isn't a surprise; he has shown time and again that the only way for him is up. However, at the Games, from an Indian athletics point of view, the only thing that had an upward trajectory was Chopra's javelin.

The disappointment didn't come from the absence of other medals. It came because of a string of less than ideal displays right across the board. In events like athletics where a lot of Indians aren't necessarily contenders at the global level, you look for other things like season bests, personal bests, national records, advancing to the semifinal... small increments to show they are on the right path.