Buoyed by her recent gold medal-winning performance at the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Doha, India's ace long jumper Anju Bobby George is aiming for nothing short of the yellow metal at the Athens Olympics in August.
"I am not going to compromise on winning the gold medal and am determined to hear our National anthem being played and tricolour being raised in Athens," Anju, the country's brightest medal hope in athletics, said in Chennai on Tuesday.
"I am now in a comfortable position to think of [winning] the gold medal in the Games. Though there are pressures, I am confident of achieving my goal since there is consistency in my jumps," the lanky superintendent in the Chennai Customs said.
The 27-year-old, who achieved a career-best leap of 6.82 metres at Doha ten days ago, said difficulty in getting visas for the various countries she plans to participate in a series of athletic meets has been affecting her preparations.
In fact, she said, she is still awaiting the visa to The Netherlands, where she is scheduled to compete in an IAAF Grand Prix event on May 31.
"I do not face any financial problems like last year but the pressure has been mounting on me in obtaining visas for different countries in Europe for competing in events before the Olympics.
"My entry for the IAAF Grand Prix in Hengelo, in The Netherlands, slated for May 31, has been confirmed but I could not decide on it since visa is yet to be extended by the embassy.
"The athletics federation of India has been doing their utmost for me in this regard," Anju said.
The Kerala-born athlete said overall she is satisfied with the improvement in her performance.
"Last August I was ranked eighth and I have gradually improved upon it to be fourth presently. I have been consistently reaching at least 20 centimetres more than my usual distance and even my worst jumps during training has been 6.70 metres."
Anju's husband-cum-coach Bobby George said the Asian Games 2002 gold medallist is beginning to peak at the right time.
"I know where she is standing right now. Anju is in her best form, strength and speed-wise. She is more confident than last year."
Anju, who bagged the Hero Award for Best Sportswoman of 2003, has come a long way since winning the silver medal at the SAF Games in Kathmandu in 1999.
She qualified for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, but could not compete in it due to injury. In 2002, she scripted a new chapter in Indian athletics by becoming the first Indian woman athlete to win a bronze medal in the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
She rose to stardom with a gold medal feat in the Busan Asian Games. With this background and her bronze medal win in the World Championship in Paris in last August, Anju has rekindled hopes of India winning its first ever gold in athletics at the Olympic Games.
