"It was definitely a bronze medal had they sent the team" - Srabani Nanda on women's 4x100m relay team missing out participation in Asian Games 2023
India recorded its best-ever medal tally at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China, last month, overhauling the count at the previous edition in 2018 (70). With 28 gold, 38 silver, and 41 bronze medals, the nation breached the unprecedented 100-medal mark since the inception of the continental event in 1951.
Athletics bagged the most medals among the 22 disciplines where India secured a medal, as the contingent brought home 29 of the total 107 medals at the 19th edition of the Asian Games.
Despite this tremendous achievement at the Asiad, some athletes reckoned that the country missed medals in the women's and men's 4x100m relay categories by not participating in the events.
Hosts China won gold in the event with a timing of 43.39 seconds. Thailand (44.32s) and Malaysia (45.01s) took home the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The Indian women's team clocked 44.66s at the Indian Grand Prix in Chandigarh, which was a qualifying event held for the Asian Games almost a fortnight before the quadrennial event. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) set the qualification timing of 45.50s for the women's relay team and 39 seconds for their men's counterpart.
Senior sprinter Srabani Nanda, who was a part of the team that finished first in the 4x100m relay at the Indian Grand Prix, said the team would have unquestionably won a medal in the team sprinting event. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda in an interview, she said:
"Actually, India missed a medal from the Asian Games just because of not sending the team. In that case, Jyothi Yarraji, myself, Vijaya Kumari and Nithya Gandhe. Four of us ran at a time which could get us a medal in the Asian Games. It was definitely a bronze medal had they sent the team."
Srabani Nanda further mentioned that the team was practicing with Karnataka's Daneshwari Ashok Thakkannavar but there was an eleventh-hour change enforced with Madhya Pradesh's Vijaya Kumari coming on as a replacement. She said:
"If we had run with Daneshwari then we could have got a silver medal (at Asian Games) because the timing for silver medal is 44.32s but we ran with a broken team with a timing of 44.66s."
In June this year, Daneshwari twisted her ankle ahead of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship and marred her participation at the Indian Grand Prix. The event was a crucial step to qualify for the Asian Games for all athletes.
While speaking to Sportskeeda's Sooryanarayanan Sesha in a telephonic conversation from her base at SAI Trivandrum, Daneshwari said:
"The competition was important for qualification for the Asian Games. But because of my ankle twist, I couldn’t take part in that competition and so I was removed from the camp for the Asian Games."
"Before the inter-state competition itself, it was mentioned in the circular that this was the last competition for the Asian Games qualification and those who qualify here will only be taken. They had mentioned in the circular that if you did well in this competition only we would be considered. Except Neeraj Chopra and Avinash Sable everyone had to be there."
"I somehow came third (in women's 100m with 11.94s) in the Grand Prix but the AFI committee said that I was not part of the camp and only those part of the camp had to be selected. That’s why I wasn’t selected for the Asian Games."
However, Daneshwari competed in the women's relay event at the Grand Prix. She was part of the silver medal-winning side that clocked a timing of 45.36s. The Belagavi-born athlete is of the opinion that the gold-medal-winning side could have met the qualification mark had she been running with them.
"If I was there we would have (secured qualification). Because the team practiced with me and not Vijaya Kumari. I was the one (running second in the practice) who received the baton from the first-leg athlete and passed it to the third leg athlete. The relay practice was with me so maybe we could have qualified," Daneshwari said.
Srabani Nanda rued missing out on the unwarranted qualification timing of the AFI as she felt that the team was capable of finishing on the podium.
"They (AFI) kept the qualification timing three weeks before the grand prix. I felt that what is the point of keeping a qualifying timing if you are faster than the medal timing? India is one of the best countries in Asia and you are not sending your sprint relay team because I don’t know why. It was a sure-shot medal," the 32-year-old mentioned.
“We all cried for more than a week” - Srabani Nanda
The Indian relay teams were looking forward to the continental showpiece after their entries were passed on by the AFI but didn't find the approval of the Sports Ministry. Many sporting teams such as women's softball, men's handball and men's 5x5 basketball's participation were withdrawn after failing to meet the required ranking standard (8th in Asia).
The Indian women's relay team was disheartened after missing out on participation after their last-minute hopes went in vain.
"The federation said they are trying, they had sent our entries. Even our accreditation card was ready over there. It’s not only me but the entire team… we all cried for more than a week. We couldn’t train because psychologically when you are down you cannot do anything. This Asian Games comes once every four years and we don’t know who will win," Srabani said.
The men's team A quartet of Harjit Singh, Amlan Borgohain, Amiya Kumar Mallick, and B Sivakumar attained the timing of 39.24s, falling just 0.24s short of the qualification. Although South Korea won the bronze medal at the Asian Games with 38.74s, Srabani felt the men's team would have done better at the event.
"And the same thing happened in the men's team. They could have got a bronze medal from what time they did at the Grand Prix in Chandigarh. It was very close to the time the bronze medal came in the Asian Games," she said. "Did every athlete in the Asian Games get a medal? We got 107 medals out of 500 or 700 athletes. I don’t understand why they are not sending the teams."
The season for the athletes ended with the conclusion of the 37th National Games. The AFI revealed the domestic schedule for the 2024 season, starting with the National Cross Country Championships on January 15.