After changing discipline due to injuries, long jumper Aravinth is on the right track

CHENNAI: A few years ago, E Aravinth was shaping up to become one of the finest triple jumpers in India, having won multiple medals in junior meets. Although the Tamil Nadu athlete had a good but brief career in triple jump, frequent injuries did not help his cause. And at one point, he was forced to change his discipline to prolong his career.

Aravinth, 24, shifted to long jump in 2022 and in one year, the move started to pay dividends.

Aravinth began the ongoing season by clinching silver in the Indian Grand Prix I, registering a personal-best mark of 7.84m. He then won the gold medal in the Tamil Nadu State Senior Athletics meet, qualifying for the Inter-State Athletics tournament.



At Inter-St ate, Aravinth bagged his maiden senior national championships medal, winning bronze with a best effort of 7.73m.

“I expected better performances in the last three competitions, but unfortunately due to recurring injuries, I was not able to give my best. My aim was to get close to the Paris Olympics qualification mark (8.27m) and had I got close to it, I would have been very happy,” Aravinth told TOI.

After quitting triple jump, Aravinth started training under Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) athletics coach Bedros Bedrosian. “I started working under coach Bedrosian in August last year. He has helped me a lot and has been a guiding force. Whenever I feel down, he motivates me to perform and tells me that I have the capacity to jump big. Had the coach accompanied me to the inter-state meet, I think I would have jumped better. Having a coach by the side during competitions helps athletes understand what they are doing wrong, and it can be rectified in the following attempts.”

The Chennai lad did not take part in any competition last year and completely focussed on his off-season training. “Bedros sir planned to have a long off-season and told me to peak at mid-season this year. We trained according to the plan and after that, I started participating in competitions. Initially, I was not happy with the plan as there were tournaments where I could have competed. But since the coach insisted that I follow the plan, I respected his decision. He has been a good supporting force, and I can see a good difference in myself from when I started training under him,” Aravinth added.

Aravinth has a lot more left in the tank

Former India horizontal jumps coach Bedrosian has played a major role in shaping Aravinth’s career in long jump. “He is a very good talent, and I hope to see him get close to 8.40m next season,” said Bedrosian, who has extended his contract with the SDAT for another 11 months.