Abdulla Aboobacker’s goal this year is to perform at optimum level in the major competitions.

Commonwealth Games silver medallist in men’s triple jump, Abdulla Aboobacker, started his season on a bright note, winning gold with a distance of 16.83m on Saturday at the Fifth Indian Open Jumps Competition held at the Anju Bobby George Foundation Campus in Bengaluru.

“I will push hard when it matters most,” Aboobacker told Sportsbackstory.com over the phone from Bengaluru.

The 30-year-old Air Force triple jumper is also taking all precautions not to overtrain and burn out early in the season. Of the six legal jumps on Saturday, Aboobacker tested his ability in the opening three. His best jump was 16.83m which fetched him gold. His opening jump was 16.05m, and he recorded a jump of 16.57m on his second attempt.  

But the experienced triple jumper didn’t stress too much in the season opening meet and avoided the remaining three jumps. “The main goal this year is to win a medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July and also perform at an optimum level at the Asian Games in September,” Aboobacker told Sportsbackstory.com.

Tamil Nadu’s international athlete Praveen Chithravel battled for the gold but settled for silver with a jump of 16.78m in the season opening competition. 

EOM