World No. 6 Anju Bobby George will go up against Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva when she begins the new season defending her long jump title in the IAAF Super Athletics Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.
The 28-year old Keralite, who won the gold with a wind-aided career-best jump of 6.82m in Doha last year, went on to improve her performance by a centimetre at the Athens Olympics, but still had to be content with sixth place, as World No. 1 Lebedeva led a Russian medal sweep, leaping to 7.07m.
Lebedeva's compatriots Irina Simagina and Tatyana Kotava, who both cleared 7.05m, took the silver and bronze medals respectively.
On Friday, Anju will also be challenged by former World champion Fiona May. The 36-year-old Italian has dropped down drastically in world rankings and was 15th in the latest ratings. Her best last season was a 6.62m, recorded in Istanbul.
"My first priority is to defend the title," said Anju, before leaving her training base at the Sports Authority of India Southern Centre campus in Bangalore earlier this week.
"That would set the pace for the events that follow," said Anju, who plans to take part in more than 20 international events this season.
Anju, the first Indian to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships, when she won the bronze in Paris in 2003, has set clear goals for the season, which will culminate with next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
She wants to break into the top three world rankings, improve her position at the World championships in Helsinki and cross the milestone of seven metres more than once.
The Customs officer will also participate in the Prefontaine Classic at Eugene, USA, next month, and thereafter the Asian Grand Prix series in Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok, and European circuit events.
"It's going to be a long season. I am planning to take part in 20 to 24 international meets this season culminating with the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next year," Anju had said.
"The Helsinki World Championships in August is the main focus. I am not only looking forward to defend the medal, but also to improve on that," said Anju, who will be returning to competition after a six-month break.
