The Indian para sprinter clocked 14.46 seconds to claim the top spot at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on the opening day of the competition on Wednesday. However, Preethi said fatigue towards the end of the race affected her execution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt was my 100m race. Towards the end I got exhausted and didn\u2019t realise it at that moment. Later I watched the race again to see how it went,\u201d Preethi told IANS.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While the gold medal added to her tally, the Indian athlete stressed that timing remains the more important benchmark, especially with bigger competitions ahead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIn the Grand Prix, winning a gold medal is not the most important thing \u2014 what matters more is the timing. Because our real goal is to win gold at the Asian Games and the Paralympics,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After reviewing the race, Preethi acknowledged that there were technical mistakes she rarely makes during training.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhen I reviewed my race, and even others told me, I realised there were some mistakes. These things usually don\u2019t happen during practice on the track, but it happened here. For the past one month I had been consistently delivering personal best timings, but that didn\u2019t happen here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Despite the disappointment, the sprinter is already focused on applying those lessons in her next event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI have understood the mistakes and the learnings, and I will apply them in tomorrow\u2019s 200m race. I will try to give my best there. In the previous race I noticed that my drive phase became very poor, so I will try to improve that in the next race,\u201d Preethi explained.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She also felt that stronger competition could have helped her push herself further during the race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really get that level of competition here where someone could beat me. The others also gave their best, but if there had been another athlete close to me pushing from the side, maybe I could have pushed myself even more. Because of that I feel I couldn\u2019t give my absolute maximum effort,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Looking ahead, Preethi believes competing in multiple international meets will help her identify areas of improvement as she prepares for major events like the Asian Games and the Paralympics<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really get that level of competition here where someone could beat me. The others also gave their best, but if there had been another athlete close to me pushing from the side, maybe I could have pushed myself even more. Because of that I feel I couldn\u2019t give my absolute maximum effort,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThese experiences help us learn and also remove fear. By the time the Asian Games arrive, we will be more used to dealing with pressure,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n