KOCHI: When Shamnaz K made that leap at the sub-junior high jump event, he was determined to fulfil his coach’s prophecy that he would win gold here. And, the victory that awaited him was sweeter as he could create a meet record of 1.78 m. “Though, I couldn’t clear the 1.81 m mark that I had set as the bench mark, I am happy for the record, an achievement I had been expecting since I began practicing for the last two years,” Shamnaz said. Trained under coach Prajeesh at Kallady HSS, Palakkad, Shamnaz, hailing from Kozhikode, feels that his rigorous practice helped him attain what he earned. “He had been training extremely hard for the meet. His victory was sure. He has a natural talent for games and has been working hard right from the beginning. He is confident and we hope to nurture him to the best. One day, we hope, he will make India proud,” Prajeesh said about his ward.Directing his potential to other events of athletes too, Shamnaz expects good results for the 80-meter hurdle event too. “This is the first time he is competing in the hurdles. But, by judging the present scores at the district-level games, he has a chance to win gold,” Prajeesh added.Shamnaz nows aims a record-breaking performance at the school nationals to be held next year. “It is not a far-fetched dream. We make sure that he trains with national champions which is a booster. By 20, he will be good enough to compete at the Asian-level ,” the coach said.
Comments
0 comment