INDIA. Mumbai: Ace athlete of the Indian Navy, MP Jabir, Petty Officer, Communications (POCOM (Tel), has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 400m hurdles after he clocked 49.78s to win gold at the recently concluded Inter-State Аthletiсs Сhаmрiоnshiрs in Раtiаlа in Punjab.
Jabir qualified through the World ranking quota where there are 14 spots available. He is currently ranked 34th in the World Athletics’ Road to Olympics rankings where 40 athletes qualify. The 25-year-old Naval sailor hails from Malappuram, Kerala. When he competes in the Tokyo Olympics, he would be the first Indian male athlete to participate in the 400m hurdles in Olympics.
PT Usha, the legendary athlete from Kerala competed in the 400 m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She finished first in the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles but narrowly missed a medal in the finals, reminiscent of Milkha Singh’s 1960 close brush with the podium.
That makes Jabir, the second from Kerala to compete in the same event in Olympics. He has participated in many National and International Athletic championships representing the Indian Navy and the Services earning many laurels, Defence Spokesman, Commander Mehul Karnik said.
The athlete is in the final stages of preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. The Inter-State Meet was the last Olympic qualification event for the Tokyo Games. In the absence of major tournaments due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Jabir’s last competitive race was in 2019. However, with regular practice and support from the Naval Training team, he was able to continue his training sessions avoiding any injuries and begin preparations for the Olympics.
Nadkarni memorial lecture
In another development, a memorial lecture dedicated to Late Admiral JG Nadkarni was organized by the Maritime History Society (MHS) on Tuesday. MHS has been organizing 3 to 4 Monsoon series lectures each year since 1993. These are now renamed Monsoon Musings. Late Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni (PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC) was a well-decorated Naval Officer and the 14th Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He was also the chief patron at MHS and was instrumental in many research initiatives at MHS.
This year, the memorial lecture was held around the theme of “Legacy of Seafaring and Nautical Practice in the Indian Context”. The key speaker for the event was Admiral Sunil Lanba (Retd), who is the Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, and the 12 th Chief of Naval Staff. He is a specialist in Navigation and Aircraft Direction and has served as the navigations and operations officer onboard several ships in both Eastern and Western Fleets of the Indian Navy.
