Race walker Irfan aims World Championships qualification at next month's Asian meet

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Indian race walker K T Irfan Saturday said his aim was to do well in next month's Asian Race Walking Championship in Japan and secure qualification for the World Championships later this year.

"I am very happy to win a gold medal here (in the National Open Race Walking Championship). It is my first event of the season and I have done well. Now my aim is to do well in the Asian meet in Nomi City, Japan and gain qualification for the World Championship," he told PTI here.

The Kerala athlete had won the 20 km race (Elite) for men in the 6th National Open Race Walking Championship in a time of 1:26:18.00, well below the World Championship qualification standard of 1:22:30.

He said Japan was always good for him as he had won a bronze medal in the Asian meet in 2017 and hoped that this time he would be able to meet the qualification standards.

"I am looking forward to the Asian Championship. Japan is very good for me. I have always done well there. I won a bronze medal in the 2017 Asian meet. I hope to win a medal there, though the competition will be tough," Irfan said.

Having trained in Patiala and Bengaluru prior to this meet, he said the humid conditions here were a bit of a challenge, adding it was nice to win a gold though the timing was normal.

"Yeah... race is good. Climate not so good.. Having trained in Patiala and then in Bengaluru where it was cold, the conditions were humid here and I was able to achieve normal training," he added.

The walkers have only two opportunities to qualify for the Worlds to be held in Qatar in September but Irfan is not too worried after not being able to achieve it here and said he could do it in the Asian Championship next month.

"I wanted to do it here.. but am confident it can be achieved in Japan next month (during the Asian meet)," he added.

The walkers were missing the presence of foreign coach Alexander Artsybashev, whose contract ended in September last year. Irfan said he hoped Alexander would join the walkers at the training camp soon.

"We hope Alexander sir joins us soon. Now we are training under national coach Harminder Singh and it has been going on well," he said.

Asked what the athletes were focusing on at the camp, Irfan said they were concentrating on techniques, keeping in mind what happened at the Asian Games in Indonesia where the walkers (Manish Rawat and B Soumya apart from him) were disqualified due to technical violation.

"We are training hard and focusing on technique.. remember what happened at the last year's Asiad... we were disqualified. Coach Harminder is working on the techniques," Irfan, who finished 23rd in the World Athletics Championship in London in 2017, added.

Irfan who had a poor 2018 as he was sent back from Gold Coast Commonwealth Games for breaching the 'no-needle' policy and being disqualified at the Asian Games, said having started the new season on a winning note in Chennai, he expects 2019 to be a good one for him.

"After the disappointments in 2018. I am happy today.. to have started with a gold medal in the first meet of the season. Maybe this year all will be good for me..." the 28-year old from Malappuram in Kerala, signed off.