Abdulla Aboobacker, an Indian triple jumper, draws attention to the growing problem of athlete burnout brought on by excessive training in private academies.

Athletes like Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker, Karthik Unnikrishnan, and Eldhose Paul all broke the 17-meter mark three years ago, marking a major advancement in triple jump in India. Their accomplishments sparked optimism about a new era for the nation's sport, but Aboobacker has since expressed concerns about two major issues: player burnout and their incapacity to advance to the senior level.

Interestingly, Aboobacker, who will compete for India at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo starting on September 13, blames the harsh training methods used by private academies for this pattern of career stagnation. States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala still have a large number of gifted triple jumpers. Even though many juniors have potential, Kozhikode, 29, an Olympian from Nadapuram, told TOI that they have difficulty making the move to the senior level.

According to Aboobacker, early overtraining is the primary culprit. A number of private academies push young athletes to the edge in an effort to achieve temporary success. Although this might produce results in the short term, it frequently results in burnout or long-term harm. According to him, many talented athletes are compelled to retire early or experience a plateau in their performance. Aboobacker, who advanced through the school-athletics system in Kerala, feels lucky to have escaped this fate.

Aboobacker is optimistic about the emergence of fresh talent in spite of the obstacles. He cited Tamil Nadu's Selva Prabhu Thirumaran and Kerala's Muhammad Muhassin as two young, talented athletes. They're both doing great.