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Answer by Aaron Ellis, track coach
In the early ’80s there were several great Indian women in the 400-800 range, including P. T. Usha (Olympic Finalist – 400mH), Shiny Abraham (Olympic Finalist – 4X400), and Mercy Alapurackal (Olympic Finalist – 4X400). There have been some good heptathletes in recent years, peaking in 2008 with Pramila Aiyappa, JJ Shobha and Susmita Singha Roy.
But every time there are Indian athletes who collectively make good progress and help to build a foundation for future track athletes, things fall apart and their gains are lost. In other words, India has talent, and occasionally even depth, but lacks consistency. It’s simply not enough to be good in an event in one or two Olympiads. It’s important to be consistently good in an event over the long term, similar to the Indian field hockey teams before 1984.
MORE FROM QUORA: Which highly accomplished athletes are known to have outstanding academic records? | Why hasn’t Roger Federer been able to win his last three Grand Slam finals as of September 2015? At the moment, India has two areas in track with lots of depth and are showing consistency. The progress these athletes have made has been the most promising in many years.
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