OP Jaisha’s bizarre Rio 2016 marathon episode a reminder of Indian sport’s dysfunctions

In the second part of his Eye on India column, Dileep Premachandran addresses the bizarre story of OP Jaisha's marathon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Jemima Sumgong of Kenya won the women's marathon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the same event that has put OP Jaisha in the centre of a self-inflicted controversy. Fabrice Coffrini / Reuters

OP Jaisha first captured India’s attention with a bronze in the 5000m at the Asian Games in 2006. Eight years later, in Incheon, she moved down to 1500m and won another bronze. By 2015 though, at the World Championships in Beijing, she had become a marathon runner. She finished 18th in 2:34.43, smashing the national record.

In Rio de Janeiro, Jaisha never threatened the marathon’s frontrunners, finishing 89th in a time that was more than 12 minutes slower than what she had run in Beijing. But that wasn’t the end of the story. By the time she crossed the finish line, she was so dehydrated she fainted and had to be rushed to hospital.

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On her return home, Jaisha told the media that she “could have died there”. That wasn’t all. She accused Indian officials of not providing her with water or other refreshments during the 42km race. Understandably, there was plenty of public sympathy and outrage. India’s officials, starting with Vijay Goel, the selfie-happy Sports Minister, had hardly covered themselves in glory in Rio, and most took Jaisha’s story as another example of their incompetence.

This time though, the Empire struck back, and forcefully. Chris Turner, of the International Amateur Athletics Federations (IAAF), emailed The Indian Express earlier in the week: "The IAAF has contacted the Rio 2016 Olympic Games local organising committee (LOC) and were informed of the following: The LOC had water stations working at the following points: 2.5km, 7.5km, 12.5km, 17.5km, 22.5km, 27.5km, 32.5km, 37.5km and 40km, plus of course at the start and finish."

Nikolai Snesarev, her Belarusian coach, also refuted Jaisha’s claims. Most marathons allow for runners to have their personalised drinks at selected water stations. Jaisha apparently had not asked for any. “A day before the race, Radhakrishnan Nair (deputy chief coach) asked me whether she (Jaisha) would need individual refreshment or drinks for the race,” he told Press Trust of India (PTI). “I asked Jaisha whether she will use personalised drinks or normal water provided by organisers. She said she will use normal water only.”

According to Jaisha, she got water only once, at the 8km mark. Kavita Raut, her teammate, said that water had been freely available along the course. Jaisha, who has now blamed Snesarav for not intimating the officials, appears to have backed herself into a corner. At 33, Rio should have been a celebratory swansong. Instead, her story, riddled with contradictions, serves as another reminder of the dysfunctional nature of most Indian sport.

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