Not often is an Indian sprinter caught in a photo finish to decide a semifinal place in a 100m dash. On the first day of the track and field events at the Nehru Stadium,the home crowd found an unlikely hero in Hyderabads Md Abdul Najeeb Qureshi,who became the fastest Indian over the distance when he equaled Anil Kumars five-year-old record. It took almost a minute for Qureshis name to flash on the giant screen after the end of the first heat of the second round (quarterfinal) of the mens 100 metres. The first three in each of the four Round Two heats and the next four best performers were to earn a place in Thursdays semifinal. Qureshi,fighting for the third place and running like there was no tomorrow,had just crossed the finish line neck-and-neck,shoulder-to-shoulder with Adrian Griffith of the Bahamas. Names of the winners and their times are posted on the giant screen one-by-one and in order of the positions they finish in decending order. So after a tense and anxious wait when Griffiths name was flashed on the screen at No.3 with a timing of 10.30,Qureshis heart sank. Already a crowd favourite after finishing first in his Round One heat,Qureshis chances of qualifying for the semifinal hung in the balance. He grimaced and shook his head. His disappointment lasted only a few seconds. Another timing of 10.30 flashed on the screen and the name alongside it was that of Qureshi. It meant Qureshi automatically qualified for the semifinals. Now Fridays sprint will give him a shot at breaking the national record; Qureshis objective coming into the CWG. I am enjoying every moment of this evening. The atmosphere after I won my first heat was electric with everyone cheering for me. I dont think the fans expected an Indian to do well in the 100 metres,so it was heartening for me to see the kind of support I got after the first heat. It inspired me to give my best in Round Two and equal the national record, Qureshi said soon after his race. At the end of the first heat,the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) hostel ward,was confident of getting close to the national mark,one which is way off the World or the Commonwealth Games record but a time no Indian sprinter has come close to during Kumars time or after he retired in 2008. Incidentally,during Kumars peak he was rather unbeatable in the 100 metres. For me,10.30 was the time I had to better. It may not mean much to those from sprinting powerhouses but I always wanted to be the fastest Indian. It was coach Mohammad Ghouse (SAAP,Khammam) who first spotted my talent at in inter-district meet in Mahabubnagar and from the time he has coached me breaking the 10.30-barrier was my focus What is the point in being a 100 metres runner if you are not even the fastest ever in your country. I always wanted to be a sprinter, Qureshi added. This has been a good year for Qureshi. At the Asian Grand Prix in Bangalore he ran a personal best of 10.38 in the 100 but finished fourth. He also won a gold in the 2010 SAF Games in the 200 and in May clinched the gold in the 100 and 200 in the Open National held in Kochi. I have trained five hours a day and I am in the best possible shape. I am slow off the blocks and not good in chest finishing. Even though I used the chest finish today,I am not happy. May be if I finished my sprint with a better technique I could have gone much faster. But today was my biggest day on the track. May be tomorrow will be even better.
