Medal at the Olympics is his Mega Goal. Doing today’s work superbly well with Mental Will, he should bring glory to India.

Unstoppable !!

Though Arjun his personal coach was irate and stopped him from practise only because of his over-sized spikes and he seemed too young, this determined pre-teen continuously showed his passion and interest and was unstoppable. Arjun soon spotted his extraordinary and sensational talent while Nihal, a class 7th student was 12 and schooling at St De Paul’s in Mysuru,  his first 600m ICSE State Meet race where he bagged the Gold amongst 100 odd athletes.

Super Long Distance Bond

A Class 12 student who just turned 17 and is in Mysuru certainly seems to have built an amazing trust and bond with Arjun and this long distance Trainer-Trainee relationship seems to be getting better each passing day and is clearly visible with the improving results the young boy is showing.  A weekly training schedule of 10 sessions was what Coach prepares with changes every alternative weeks.  The workouts include strenuous endurance, speed, explosive power, strength, hill running etc., Not to forget the mentoring and motivational whatsapp chats only once a week. There is no denying that his parents are a tremendous support too. It is true that one of the biggest challenges in an Athlete’s career is to find a suitable coach as the future depends on him or her. Let’s hope this duo last for a long long time to come and reach great heights.

Peaking at the right time.

400 Meter Sprinter - This stylish and a classy Athlete has achieved so much in such a short time of 4-5 years. It may sound short but without putting in 4-5 hours of work each day this is next to impossible. In the video watch a close finish by Nihal in the 1000m Sprint Medley Relay.

Here’s a picture to show his steady, consistent and quick progress.

Bright Future.

Arjun Ajay, his personal coach says, though Nihal has made quick progress, he is firmly grounded and doesn’t want to be distracted with wins, records, rewards and is completely focused on the upcoming World Athletics and his final goal is the next Olympics. International exposure for any athlete is very very important and hopefully Nihal gets to participate in a few of them soon.

Olympics.

Actions speak louder than words and doesn’t want to discuss much.  There has been no medals in athletics for India at all and his event 400 Meters is really really tough. Its no more a middle distance running but rather it is like running fastest 100m x 4 times without losing a single millisecond. He runs under 48 and therefore is running 100m at 12 secs and feels he needs to come down to 11 secs.  Since Milkha Singh there has been no one and “I want to make that difference” he coyishly quips.

Athlete’s worry

Injuries says Nihal. It is true that every runner or for that matter any sportsperson is very precautious about injuries.  A lot of effort goes into the kind of fitness or workouts each body can take and how far one can push it without harming. This is why personal coaches come handy as they know the trainees capabilities and work around it. 

Tough and Demanding Times

Studies and Sports it’s hard to balance and shine in both areas, but hats off to Nihal, who says “Smart Study” is what he does.  While in class he is there 100%, which actually means half the studies are done. The other half,  carefully with the help of his teachers over the weekends,  chalks out a thorough organised schedule for the coming week.  He says you will always find people who are ready to help and his friends too do it. He loves music and theatre too which he says helps in de-stressing and relaxing.

www.bookofachievers.com and the whole nation wishes you that one day you will have the National Anthem playing at the Olympics. You are India’s hope.

Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/its-nihal-joels-day-out/article19627338.ece