2-time Olympic champion Rudisha feels defending gold won't be easy for Neeraj

Twotime Olympic Games gold medallist in 800m Kenyas David Rudisha is keen to train Indian sprinters and middledistance runners when he calls time on his illustrious careerThe 34yearold twotime world champion in 800m who defended his 2012 London Olympics gold in Rio four years later also said winning backtoback gold medals at the quadrennial games is not easy but Indias ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra can achieve the feat if he continues to train the way he was before the 2020 Tokyo GamesRudisha who is reaching the end of my professional career added his retirement could open up opportunities for him to coach aspiring runnersAsked if he would be keen to train Indian sprinters and middledistance runners after calling time on his professional career Rudisha 34 said Well after I am done with some level 1 and 2 coaching programmes yes I can have a fresh start and that coaching could be an option There are no boundaries for coaches You are like a teacher and whoever wants to learn is most welcomeRudisha who is here as the brand ambassador of Sundays Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon is one of the few track athletes to have won backtoback Olympic gold and says that contrary to belief its not an easy task to retain the crownAlso Read Neeraj Chopra says breaking national record with 8930m throw has boosted my confidenceOn whether Chopra will be able to defend his Tokyo crown Rudisha said Its a tough eightyear journey performing in consecutive Olympics So many new athletes are coming inMy experience says its not easy to defend gold and there are no guarantees given that so many other things like physical fitness preparation etc too play a major role But yes its still achievableThe celebrated athlete also indicated he is not happy with the way Kenyas reputation has been tarnished by runners taking the easy route of doping to achieve successThree top Kenyan athletes were banned for a collective period of eight years by the Athletics Integrity Unit AIU for breaking antidoping rules in December last year thus adding to the growing list of runners bringing shame to the countryIn fact the country faces the prospect of being banned by World Athletics because of the dope menace having reached crisis levelsThe softspoken Rudisha belonging to the Masai tribe used very harsh words to describe how the runners were tarring the countrys imageDoping is a big problem in our country Its damaging the sport there If I am right Kenya has been topping the doping list for 10 years now Some athletes take shortcuts which is badI fail to understand when they have the talent why do they resort to such practices They are spoiling the name of the country and by doing so are robbing those who have worked hard to get there They are ignorant that they are harming the prospects of their own brothers and sistersThe AIU had banned marathon runners Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai and Johnstone Kibet Maiyo for three years and sprinter Mark Otieno for two in DecemberEven though Kenya is planning to criminalise doping in athletics there seems to be little to deter athletes from taking the short cut This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever