Kapustin hopes Eldhose, Aboobacker can build on CWG success

India’s jumps coach sees potential but feels the path to further glory will not be easy

BENGALURU: Denis Kapustin is wholesome in his praise for M. Harikrishnan. Appointed around five months ago as India’s jumps coach, Kapustin, a Russian, couldn’t travel to either Eugene for the World Championships or Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games because of visa-related issues.

That did not stop the triple-jumpers Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker from clinching the Commonwealth gold and silver medals, courtesy some online lessons by Harikrishnan, coach at the SAI South Centre here.

“I am very happy and feel a part of this success,” says Kapustin. “But I can’t say I gave much [inputs]. I joined only recently. So, all credit to coach Hari.”

However, for the next two years until the Paris 2024 Olympics, Kapustin’s role is expected to be central. Four Indian men feature among the top-25 triple-jump distances this season — Praveen Chithravel and Karthik Unnikrishnan along with Eldhose and Aboobacker. But their bests are still way off the medal-winning distances at world level, which often tend to be upwards of 17.50m.

“Their performance is enough for CWG, but for the future they need to train harder and reduce technical mistakes,” says Kapustin. “In competition you can win with just one [good] jump. Eldhose proved it.

“In Birmingham, he had like 16:30, 16:40… and one big winning jump. He did 17.03 by jumping from 17cm behind the line. So, he has room. But still, it is not enough for Worlds and Olympics.”

But what gives Kapustin hope is the fact that Eldhose did finish ninth at the Worlds on debut and Aboobacker has shown significant improvement in the last few months.