India can win 32 medals after observing Indian athletics for more than a year, says Troy Douglas, athletics head coach at Inspire Institute of Sport.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Troy Hamilton Douglas talks to coaches from Tamil Nadu as if he has known them for years. At a coaching clinic in Chennai, the 63-year-old listens intently to a young coach explaining how he trained his athletes, including one returning from injury.
Friendly and hands-on, Douglas is the head coach of athletics at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), Vidhyanagar, Ballari, Karnataka. He is in the city for a two-day coaching clinic organised jointly by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu and IIS.
Douglas believes Indian athletics can better its performance at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya after a record 29-medal haul at the Hangzhou Games in 2023. The tally of six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze was India’s best-ever athletics performance at the Asian Games since 1951.
“If we can equal or get two or three medals more, I will be very happy. In fact, I will say we can win 32 medals. I am saying this after observing Indian athletics for more than a year and watching the Indian Series this season,” Douglas told The Hindu on Friday.
Asked about IIS athletes with medal potential, Douglas, whose contract with IIS runs until 2028, said: “We have too many [IIS] athletes — 23 in all. I will say of the lot, Rashdeep Kaur (women’s 400m and 4x400m relay) and Prachi Choudhary (women’s 400m and 4x400m relay) have a bright chance. I say that because they are properly prepared and have had a fantastic training camp with the national team.”
Douglas said he had been in close contact with Indian coach Jerry Lee Holness, who is in charge of the women’s 400m and 400m hurdles. He added that IIS jumps coach Yoandri Betanzos believed triple jumpers Praveen Chithravel and Selva Prabhu could “do some fantastic things at the Asian Games”.
Douglas, a three-time Olympian for Bermuda who competed in the 200m and 400m, said he plans to retire from coaching after 2028.
“I’m going to go back and spend time with my three grandkids and be a full-time grandfather.”
Published – September 04, 2026 07:55 pm IST
