Triple jumper Arpinder Singh is doing the rounds ever since he bettered the Indian record with an excellent leap of 17.17m – a mark that put him on top in both Commonwealth and Asian lists this year. Although he was nowhere near to that distance after a cruel summer day at Lucknow in June, Singh garnered a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow earlier this year. Last year’s Asian champion Cao Shuo (17.35 in 2012) and his Chinese teammate Dong Bin (17.38 in 2012) looking formidable against the Indian. Also in the fray are four other jumpers with 17+ marks to their credit that includes two from Kazakhstan – Roman Valiyev (17.20) and Yevgeniy Ektov (17.22), one from hosts Korea – Kim Duk Hyung (17.10) and former Indian record holder Renjith Maheswary (17.07m in 2010).
The long jump is a cup of tea for the Chinese as their athletes took the top nine spots in 2014 ranking lists. Li Jinzhe (8.47m) and Gao Xinglong (8.18) has set their personal bests this year and going to Incheon to claim the top two spots. The Koreans are fielding defending Asian Games champion Kim Duk Hyung. Kim leapt a distance of 8.20m five years ago and looking for a ‘double’ this time.
