FOR many hours a day Alexander Krasilshehikov hunches over his laptop in his office at the National Institute of Sport at Patiala. Training methods expert at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Ukrainian has been instilling scientific training skills in various sport disciplines for close to five years. His years at SAI have taught him how to deal with journalists for, as he says, with a glint in his eyes: "Just two types of people visit Patiala—journalists and officials." Grill Krasilshehikov about the dismal Indian showing over eight years, particularly in athletics, and his reply is an insightful one. "Improvement in Indian sports is a bit of a philosophical question. Athletic investment is not linear. Qualitative jumps happen only after a lot of time."