EJ Obiena believes his time will finally come and hopefully it will happen during the Asian Games in Indonesia next year.
Bad luck hounded him the past two years – first missing the chance to see action in the Rio Games qualifier last year after his pole was damaged during the flight.
The 22-year-old pole vaulter was then tipped as one of the country’s top medal prospects in the Kuala Lumpur Games last August, but failed to see action after suffering an ACL (acute cruciate ligament) during training, leaving him fully disappointed.
And that’s the reason why he’s doing everything now to regain his full strength and zeal.
“My big goal next year is the Asian Games,” said Obiena, who currently holds the national record of 5.55 meters which set during the Singapore Open last year. “I am still doing my rehab, but I’m looking forward to full training around February (next year).”
To regain his strength, he does his therapy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while Tuesday and Thursday are for strength workouts.
“I’m starting to put power exercises to the max as I was allowed by my personal therapist to do so. I’m maybe at halfway there (to full recovery). It’s still a long way to go, but I’m doing my best,” Obiena said.
If he recovers his form, Obiena believes he has a good chance of winning the gold medal.
Before he suffered an ACL, Obiena was doing great in training, having leapt 5.61 meters in Leverkusen, Germany.
“It might sound far-fetched, but I believe that I can do it,” said Obiena, who trained under seasoned Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov in Europe since 2014.
