Praveen Chithravel aims to qualify for Olympics at Federation Cup

Bengaluru: It was as close to Olympic qualification as it could have got when Praveen Chithravel jumped 17.12m in his fourth attempt at the men's Triple Jump at the Indian Grand Prix 1 on Tuesday.

Competing in a moderate field with Commonwealth medalist Eldhose Paul, Praveen started with a jump of 16.49m in the season-opening jump.

Praveen's fourth attempt of 17.12m was just 0.10m short of the 2024 Paris Olympic qualification mark of 17.22m. After being agonizingly close to the mark, Praveen is confident of breaching the mark at the upcoming Federation Cup in Bhubaneswar.

Talking about the qualification mark and the difficulty, Praveen said," It is not tough but it does take time. I can surely qualify for the Olympics in the upcoming Federation Cup."

Out of five legitimate attempts on the day, Praveen crossed 16m thrice starting with a 16.49m jump, crossed 17m once, and had a poor attempt of 15.66m in his last attempt.

"I'm happy with my effort today. It's the season opener and hopefully, I'll do better in the coming days," Praveen told The Bridge about his performance on the sidelines of the event.

Praveen had a good season in 2023 and crossed the 17m mark thrice. He broke the national record with a jump of 17.37m and also won the bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

With the Paris Olympics qualification in sight, Praveen Chitravel will have more competitions to achieve the mark. Federation Cup Senior Athletics is scheduled from 12th to 15th next month where Praveen will target the qualification.

"I need to make some changes in the run-up. There are some other basic changes but I think I am getting there now," Praveen concluded with his upcoming plan.

No Indian triple jumper participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but Praveen has surely ignited the hopes for Indian athletics.