The French work 35 hours a week, so it can be safely assumed that most French people would have their Saturdays off. Still, history (in the form of reports of the day) is silent on the number of people present at Saint Denis, near Paris on the evening of Saturday, August 30, 2003, a characteristically cold and wet fall day, to witness Indian athletics' finest moment to date. The athlete responsible for this, a long jumper, is a 26-year-old 1.77 metre tall, 63-kg heavy economics graduate from the University of Calicut in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Anju Bobby George. At Saint Denis, George did 6.61 metres on her first attempt, fouled the next two (one of them, reports go, could well be her best jump to date, just 10 centimetres or so short of the magical seven metre mark), and, taking off from a little behind the jump line, did 6.56 metres on her fourth. Then came the fifth: George sprinted smoothly up to the line, took off, and soared, and soared, and soared. The result: 6.7 metres, 4 cms off her best, but still good enough to win her a bronze. A medal in the World Athletic Championship is something no Indian athlete has achieved. Not Flying Sikh Milkha Singh. Not Payoli Express P.T. Usha. Anju Bobby George had arrived. The bronze helped Anju move up from eighth spot to sixth on the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) ranking, and booked her a place in the inaugural World Athletics Final to be held in September 2003 in Monaco. She came in fifth-after she had her passport and credit cards stolen in Paris three days before the meet-but retained her IAAF ranking. For the record, George was ranked 61 in 2001.

Take Off

Business Today has a sportive side to it, but that isn't the reason George figures in these pages. Nor is it the possibility of a medal at the Athens Olympics that fetches her a mention here. At a ceremony organised in her honour soon after the Paris event, India's President, Abdul Kalam, told George, "100 crore Indians are looking forward to you changing the colour of your medal from bronze to gold (at the Athens Olympics)." This writer and the magazine he represents would be pretty kicked with that but no, not enough to dedicate three pages to the lady. George is featured in the magazine on the strength of her status as, arguably, India's first and only professional athlete. "Indian athletes usually practice around certain seasons," says Robert 'Bobby' George, Anju's coach, husband and the national triple jump champion between 1996 and 2000. "They practice for certain events and slack off when competitions aren't scheduled." "Internationally, professional athletes train around the year, participate in chosen events against the best in the world, are represented by agents, even get paid an appearance fee at times." George has an agent, Hudson Smith International, a Los Angeles-based firm that represents, among others, sprinter Maurice Greene. It is imperative for up-and-coming athletes such as George to have an agent: global athletics meets present them with an opportunity to compete at the highest level (that's the kind of experience that no amount of training can match); but these are, more often than not, exclusive competitions where only the best athletes are welcome; an agent can (for good-enough athletes) open doors.

Few Indian athletes make the transition from good to great. Some do not have the ability, others, the vision, and still others, the resources. The majority of the few who do all three do not realise that they had the opportunity to make the transition until the moment passes them by. Then, it is too late. The Georges didn't just get their timing right: they made sure things happened when they had to. Actually, make that Bobby George. The 33-year-old mechanical engineer from Thiruvananthapuram's College of Engineering comes from what could well be the first family of Indian sports-suffice it to say that his seven elder brothers once beat India's national team in a volleyball friendly. Bobby was a good triple jumper, but it is as Anju's coach that he will probably realise a greater glory. "I owe all my success to Bobby," gushes Anju. "He has been my coach, guide, and philosopher. And given the paucity of funds he has also been my personal trainer, masseur, and nutritionist. He has sacrificed his career for the sake of mine."

Bobby was a good triple jumper, but it is as Anju's coach that he will probably realise a greater glory

That quote may be, as Bobby insists it is, be "a wife speaking". Fact is, he was close to 30 when they got married. And as he admits, "I knew from the beginning that she was more talented than me." So, post their marriage in April, 2000, Bobby took over the task of managing Anju's career. He's proved adept at that: for starters, the engineer in him understands bio-mechanics. "At Paris, the difference between her bronze and the gold was just 30 cms," he says. "Imagine, T-H-I-R-T-Y cms; if we train scientifically, there is no reason Anju cannot improve."

Then, there was the decision to 'go global', something that the couple made in 2003. The much-written-about meeting with Mike Powell, the world record holder in George's very sport, was providential and Bobby lost no time in using the opportunity to convince the legendary long jumper to coach Anju. The 10-week, April to July, 2003, stint with Powell played its part in helping George break into the top 10. And as George has admitted ever so often, it has done her confidence a lot of good. Gone is the diffident participant walking up to the top of her run; in her place is the new Anju, aggressive, confident, even made up (another possible distinction: she could be the only Indian athlete to wear make up, however light, while competing).

Landing

It is a paradox of sorts that India Inc, taking small but sure steps towards a global presence, has been slow to recognise an athlete who is trying to do the same. Participating in international athletic meets and training overseas is an expensive proposition and although the Georges don't dwell on the subject, it is evidently an irritant. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has, thus far, doled out Rs 60 lakh (apart from a job for Anju) and the Kerala government has done Rs 5 lakh (and a job for Bobby), but apart from Bangalore-based construction and real-estate firm Shobha Developers, which has funded the Georges with Rs 30 lakh to meet training expenses, no Indian company has expressed any interest in the athlete. "I hope (the money) helps Anju achieve her dreams," says P.C.N. Menon, Managing Director, Shobha.

George and Bobby, now in Bangalore training for the season ahead, are convinced about that. Bobby claims Anju does 6.85 consistently during practice sessions; the winning jump at the Olympics in 2000 was around seven metres. "Winning a medal at the Olympics is a given," he says. "The gold is the challenge."