THE GAMBLER
Track athletes are nobodies, they don't get mobbed. Oh, but they do. At the recent National Open Meet in Bhopal, young people pestered a frail, quiet girl for autographs. Sunita Rani, the patwari's daughter, had become a celebrity. "No, I'm not," she protests. "I have a long way to go to catch up with the runners in the international arena." Read Milkha Singh and P.T. Usha.

But she's getting there. Two medals at last year's Bangkok Asiad -- -- a 5,000 m silver and a surprising 1,500 m bronze -- -- were impressive. Better still, in the past year she improved her 1,500 m timing by eight seconds, her 5,000 m timing by nearly 15 seconds.

Now the long-distance runner is concentrating more on the swifter 1,500 m. It is a bold gamble, for the last 250 m is a sprint and Sunita's finish lacks the required muscle. Her 1,500 m best is 4:08.01 sec and though the international standard is 3:59 sec, she's capable of touching 4:03 sec. Says her coach Renuka Kohli: "She's dedicated and hard working." Now, if she finds that finishing burst, who knows where she might go.