The BOSM English Press recently spoke with Vyom Tatke, the Captain of the boys’ athletics team, to learn more about the team’s preparations for the upcoming fest. 

Vyom began by mentioning that the athletics team’s events in BOSM could be categorised into running, jumping, and throwing. The running events would be further classified into short distances (100m, 200m, and 400m), middle distances (800m and 1500m), and long distances (3km and 5km). Throwing events would include shot put, javelin, and discus. He mentioned that although there were participants willing to take part in discus throw, it had not been a confirmed event at the time of the interview. Lastly, long jump, high jump, and triple jump comprised the three jumping events.

The Captain explained that training for all the events had been rigorous, with injury prevention being a core part of it. He said that they had been practising since early August. He shared that the recent rains hindered their training mildly, and that they had to adapt their regimen accordingly each day. With the absence of a proper ground, jump and throw athletes trained in the gym, and the runners focused on plyometrics and stamina building by running on the roads. 

While they had recruited new members shortly after the semester began, he explained that their main focus for recruits was to slowly increase the intensity during their practices. It was more important to get them used to the training than to get them prepared for BOSM. 

When asked about their performance last year, Vyom stated that they fared well. He elaborated that long-distance running was their strongest event, and they planned to maintain that this year. While all the events remained competitive, the Captain remarked that short-distance running was even more so. He clarified that while they had not come up with a special routine for it, but had continued to train hard and were looking forward to challenging the other teams. 

When asked about his role as Captain, Vyom felt that his only new responsibility was to fill out forms every so often. He added that although it was his job as Captain to keep everyone motivated, his team was already self-motivated and that they all supported each other. 

Addressing the BITSians, he requested them to come and support the teams playing from BITS. He revealed that while it created performance pressure, a crowd cheering for them always felt rewarding to the athletes.