VIJAYANAGAR (KARNATAKA): Praveen Chithravel, a national record holder and Asian Games bronze medallist in the triple jump, has set the target of winning the Goliath Games in the Commonwe in Scotland next year.
He is also looking to re-write his national record of 17.37m this season itself.
The 23-year-old Chithravel finished fourth in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games with an effort of 16.89m, while compatriots Eldhose Paul (17.03m) and Abdulla Aboobacker (17.02m) won gold and silver, respectively.
Bermuda's Jah-Nhai Perinchief (16.92m) won the bronze.
“I'm fighting to achieve more, like the Olympics, World Championship, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, everything. I had the medal in Asian Games, I lost the medal by 2cm (3cm) in the Commonwealth Games,” Chithravel, who is currently training at the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) here, told 'PTI-Bhasha' in an exclusive interview.
“I have an Asian Indoor Championships medal, a Youth Olympics medal. Yes, in the 2026 Asian Games (Aichi-Nagoya in Japan), I'm sure I'll get a medal, but I want a gold medal in Commonwealth Games (in 2026). Of course, because of Commonwealth Games, I can't sleep properly," he said.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2.
Chithravel set the national record at a competition in Havana, Cuba, in 2023.
“My PB is 17.37, a national record, so I want to break the national record again. I did it in 2023 and want to break the national record again in 2025.
“This year we have the World Indoor Championship, and Asian Championship, and World Championship, and then I'm focusing on Diamond Leagues," said Chithravel, who won bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 with a jump of 16.68m.
The Tamil Nadu triple jumper said it was not difficult for him to get into sports, as many family members were into them.
“My family has been in sports; my uncle and dad played Kabaddi. So you know, studying is not like I'm perfect, but sports make me feel more comfortable,” he said.
“I was playing Kabaddi before, and then my father said you can play individually when it's good for you. The team game is not like every person comes with you every time. So individually, you can make yourself only.”
He said there was a lack of infrastructure initially, but after achieving results, he started getting good facilities.
“No, we don't have any facilities in my village. I was doing Zonal and district work in my state.
"Then I got a hostel in Chennai, when I was in seventh standard, like 10 years old, 11 years old, I got the hostel, then I got the facilities,” said the athlete from Thanjavur district.
