Ukrainian coaches, Indian athletes: Field days

The beleaguered country's influence on Indian athletics has been very strong

A few hours after news trickled in of Russian troops entering Ukraine, Sharad Kumar took to Twitter. “Just spoke to my coach in Ukraine Kharkiv,” he tweeted, “he is worried, he can hear bombing from his room, he is planning to move to his garage underground.”

Kumar won bronze in F42 High Jump in Tokyo last year, the pinnacle of a lifelong journey in para sport that culminated with long due Olympic success. For him, this Caucasus conflict is personal. He had, after all, spent all of 2020 — and most of the last six years actually — training in