Off the record: Vij betters national mark

Shakti Singh’s national record of 20.42m in shot put,set nearly a decade ago,can stand for some more time. Sourabh Vij bettered the mark on Thursday with a throw of 20.65m at the Delhi State Annual Athletics Championships,but it won’t go into the record books as no standard procedures,such as dope tests,were followed at the event and no Athletics Federation of India representative was present there to verify the results.

Despite failing to claim the record,Vij is anything but disappointed. In fact,it has spurred him on to do better at the upcoming Asian All Stars Athletics Championship in the Capital and the Nationals Athletics Championships in Patiala. Vij’s confidence stems from the fact that he has been touching the 20m mark consistently.

Having made it into the core group of athletes for the Commonwealth Games,the 23-year-old is undergoing a training camp at Palam.

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“I am spending a lot of time for my practice. My performance is shaping up just fine,” he said. While Vij idolises American Randy Barnes for his world-record throw of 23.12m,he feels that Canada’s Dylan Armstrong — whose personal best is 21.58m — will be the man to watch out for at the Games.

“It will be a good experience throwing alongside Armstrong.

“I have touched 21m in my practice sessions. So I am confident that my current form will get me medals.”

And records.