Revision as of 19:16, 13 February 2023

Event-wise performance

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships

==2023: Indian medal winners Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men’s shot put) - Gold

Karanveer Singh (men’s shot put) - Silver

Praveen Chitravel (men’s triple jump) - Silver

Swapna Barman (women’s pentathlon) - Silver

Pavithra Vengatesh (women’s pole vault) - Silver

Rosy Meena Paulraj (women’s pole vault) - Bronze

Jeswin Aldrin (men’s long jump) - Silver

Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 60m hurdles) - Silver

World Athletics Championships

2022

A

Neeraj Chopra felt lost in a windy afternoon at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, losing his grip over the title he yearned the most since his Tokyo Olympics exploits. First, a foul when he stepped over the scratch line, followed by efforts of 82. 39m and 86. 37m. And then he dug deep. A glance at his biomechanics coach, Dr Klaus Bartonietz, in the stands who gestured him to stay calm and signalled Neeraj to throw his javelin parallel to the ground without much elevation. The spear flew to a distance of 88. 13m.

It was beyond the 87. 58m he produced in Tokyo for the Olympics gold. But sometimes, your best is not good enough. On the day, defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada breached the 90m thrice and he seemed to be in a world of his own.

So, our boy Neeraj had to settle for a silver finish at the World Championships.

Another Indian in the fray, Rohit Yadav finished an overall 10th among 12 finalists, with a best throw of 78. 72m.

B

July 18, 2022: The Times of India

Eugene: Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar failed to live up to the expectations as he finished seventh in the finals with his best effort of 7. 96m on the second day of competitions at the World Athletics Championships. Having become the first Indian male athlete to qualify for the long jump finals in the World Championships, Sreeshankar had raised hopes of a historic medal in the showpiece. But his performance in the final was way below his season’s and personal best of 8. 36m. He had three legal jumps -the opening jump of 7. 96m, fourth round effort of 7. 89m and last attempt of 7. 83m. The other three tries were fouls. Sreeshankar had gone into the championships in the joint second spot in the season’s top list on the basis of his national record 8. 36m jump. China’s Jianan Wang won the gold with a final jump of 8. 36m while Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece won the silver with a best effort of 8. 30m. Simon Ehammer (8. 16m) of Switzerland took bronze. Parul Chaudhary ran her personal best of 9:38. 09 in women’s 3000m steeplechase to finish 12th in heat number two to miss out on the finals. She finished 31st overall. In men’s 400m hurdles, Madari Palliyalil Jabir also failed to advance to the semifinals after finishing seventh and last in heat number two with a time of 50. 76s. He finished 31st overall. PTI

Year-wise performance

2016

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships

The Times of India, Feb 21 2016  Long jumper Mayook ha Johny fetched India a gold medal while sprinter Dutee Chand settled for a bronze af ter shattering national re cord in 60m dash in the Asian Indoor Athletics Champions hips. Mayookha controlled the long jump competition from the very outset and finished on top of the podium with a le ap of 6.35m, an effort that pro pelled her to India's first Asi an indoor title in the event Bui Thi Thu Thao of Vietnam took the silver with a 6.30m jump while Olga Rypakova o Kazakhstan finished third with an effort of 6.22m.

“Winning in Doha made me really happy , especially since I'm not used to competing indoors.

However, I expected something better than 6.35m. But I'm not complaining at all. The Asian title is quite an achievement,“ said Mayookha after winning the gold.

Another Indian, M A Prajusha finished fifth with a jump of 6.15m.

Dutee, meanwhile, won a bronze in women's 60m dash with a time of 7.37 secs in the final.

Earlier, she had set a na tional record while winning her heats in 7.28 secs. Viktoriya Zyabkina of Kazakhstan overcame a sluggish start to win the final race in a Championship record of 7.27 secs, well clear of China's Yuan Qi qi (7.33 secs). Sugandha Kumari brought the third medal for India as she won a bronze in women's 1500m with a time of 4:29.06.

In women's shot put, Manpreet Kaur (Jr) finished sixth with her best throw of 15.21m.

In men's high jump, Tejaswin Shankar failed to clear the opening height.

In women's pentathlon, Swapna Burman was at second spot after three events with 3285 points. She finished second in the first event of 60m hurdles, clocking 8.85 secs. She then finished third in shot put with a best throw of 11.38m before clearing 5.74m in long jump.

7 gold medals ensure Indian athletes a third place finish at 17th Asian Junior Championships Representational Image (Getty Images) Mon, 6 Jun 2016-11:59pm , PTI The Indian contingent returns home with a haul of 17 medals in total.

Indian athletes ended their campaign in the 17th Asian Junior Championships at a creditable third position with a rich haul of 17 medals, including seven gold, at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Monday.

The Indians bagged 7 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze to finish behind Japan (14 gold) and China (11 gold).

India had finished fifth in the previous edition held in Chinese Taipei in 2014 with 12 medals (2 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze). The Indians seemed to save their best for the last day as they bagged 3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.

3rd at Asian Junior Championships

The Times of India, June 8, 2016

Lily Das and Jisna Matthew grabbed their second gold medals of the Championships. 17-year-old Lily Das from West Bengal clocked 2:06.64sec to win the women's 800m, to add to her gold in her favourite event of 1500m.

The icing on the cake came from the women's 4x400m relay quartet who struck the last gold for India with P T Usha's protege Jisna Mathew anchoring the team to the top spot. The Indians were lagging behind with some distance to go in the race before The women's relay quarter of Jisna, Shaharbana Shidiqui Thadian Parambil, V Subha and George Linet clocked 3:43.57sec to take the top honours.

Rio aspirant Neeraj Chopra won the silver in men's javelin with a best throw of 77.60 metres, behind Japan's Sado Juniya (77.97m).

The Indian men's 4x400m relay team, comprising Kiran Murugan, Pankaj Malik, Harsh Kumar and Amoj Jacob finished with a silver, clocking 3:12.12sec, behind Thailand's 3:11.59.

In the men's 10,000m race, Abhishek Pal bagged the silver with a timing of 31:24.06sec while compatriot Kishen Narsi Tadvi took the bronze by clocking 32:07.12sec. Sonu Kumar added a bronze medal in men's triple jump with a performance of 15.99 metres.

2016: Taiwan Open Athletics Championships

The Times of India, May 21, 2016

Dutee bags second gold, but is still searching for Rio berth

Dutee Chand bagged her second gold by winning the women's 200m race in a clean sweep of medals by the Indians in the Taiwan Open Athletics Championships here on Friday. Dutee clocked 23.52secs in the 200m sprint final to win the gold while compatriots Srabani Nanda and HM Jyothi picked up the silver and bronze in 23.55secs and 23.92secs respectively. The trio were part of the Indian quartet that set a national record in women's 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Challenge in Beijing on May 18 2016.

2018

Asian Junior Athletics Championships

Days 1, 2: two gold, one silver, seven bronze

Jisna clinches gold; Sreesankar wins bronze, June 9, 2018: The Times of India

Quartermiler Jisna Matthew clinched a gold to lead India’s medal charge on the second day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championships on Friday. Five other Indian athletes also grabbed a bronze each as India took their total medal tally to two gold, one silver and seven bronze.

Mathew, the defending champion, clocked 53.26 seconds in the women’s 400m final race to finish well ahead of Dilshi Kumarasinghe of Sri Lanka who clocked 54.03 seconds. Mathew, who has a personal best of 52.65 secs, has already won a senior Asian bronze as well as a gold in the 4x400m relay. She was also part of the Indian women’s 4x400m relay teams at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 World Championships in London.

Junior national record holder, long jumper M Sreeshankar did not come close to matching his personal best of 7.99m but still clinched a bronze after clearing a distance of 7.47m. Sreeshankar, who nearly touched the 8m mark at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March, was named in India’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games team but had to undergo a surgery to remove his appendicitis just before the CWG. Shot putter Ajay Bhalothia also won bronze. While Bhalothia fell short of his personal best of 18.53m, it took a career high effort from high jumper Abhinaya Sudhakara Shetty to step on the podium. Shetty cleared 1.75m to claim bronze.

India no.3 in medals

Two gold on the final day lift India to third, June 11, 2018: The Times of India

India clinched four medals, including two golds, on the last day of competitions at the Junior Asian Athletics Championships to finish third in the medal standings, here on Sunday. Kamalraj Kanagaraj and Ajit Kumar won gold medals in the men’s triple jump and 5000m respectively while the women’s 4x400m relay team claimed a silver. Jisna Mathew took home her second individual medal and third overall of the championships with a bronze in women’s 200m race.

India bagged 17 medals -- five gold, two silver and 10 bronze -- in the four-day championships to finish third behind Japan (14 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze) and China (11 gold, 8 silver, 4 bronze).

With a personal best of 16.41m, and coming off a gold medal winning effort of 16.05m at the Junior South Asian Championships last month, 19-year-old Kamalraj was expected to perform well at the Asian Junior Championships.

Those hopes nearly faded after he suffered an injury scare and walked away from the competition due to an ankle pain developed after his third attempt at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium.

However, his first jump of 15.75m turned out to be more than enough to seal victory. Korea’s Gyumin Yu and Japan’s Syunsuke Izumiya took the silver and bronze respectively with efforts of 15.56m and 15.47m.

While Kamalraj’s gold came despite less than optimum showing, compatriot Ajit Kumar produced a personal best to win the men’s 5000m race. The Allahabad-based athlete clocked 14:15.24s to grab the gold while also improving on his previous best time of 14:38.10s recorded at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March.

Chitra finishes fourth, Jinson seventh

September 9, 2018: The Times of India

PU Chitra finished a creditable fourth in women’s 1500m race while Jinson Johnson ended seventh in men’s 800m on the first day of the IAAF Continental Cup here on Saturday.

Chitra, who had won a bronze in the just-concluded Asian Games, crossed the finishing line in the fourth place with a time of 4 minute 18.45 seconds in the eight-woman field. She had clocked 4:12.56 in Jakarta.

Winny Chebet of Kenya emerged as the winner in a time of 4:16.01 while Shelby Houlihan (4:16.36) of United States and Rababe Arafi (4:17.19) of Morocco took the silver and bronze respectively.

In men's 800m, national record holder Johnson clocked 1:48.44 to end at seventh in the race won by Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir of Kenya who ran 1:46.50.

IAAF Continental Cup

Arpinder wins medal; Neeraj falters

Arpinder first Indian to win medal; Neeraj falters, September 9, 2018: The Times of India

Triple jumper Arpinder Singh on Sunday created history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in the IAAF Continental Cup as he clinched a bronze but star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finished sixth with a below-par show here.

Arpinder, who won the gold in the recent Asian Games, cleared a modest 16.59m in the first of his three jumps to be in the four-man semifinals. He could only clear a 16.33m jump in his next attempt to miss out on the two-man final jump. Nonetheless, he collected a bronze. No Indian has ever won a medal in the Continental Cup which was known as the IAAF World Cup before 2010.

In men’s javelin throw, reigning Asian Games champion Chopra finished a disappointing sixth in the eightman field with a best of 80.24m from his three throws. Chopra began with 80.24m and then could only clear 79.76m in his second attempt. His third throw was a foul attempt. This was Chopra's worst international performance this season. He had a 80.81m in the Eugene leg of the Diamond League Series.

Reigning Olympic and world champion Christian Taylor took the gold with a jump of 17.59m, which is one metre more than the best effort of Arpinder.

National Open Athletics Championships

Sam Chakraborty, Avinash breaks 37-year-old record, September 29, 2018: The Times of India

Sinks Saini’s Mark At The Nationals

Services’ Sable Avinash created a new national record in men’s 3000m steeplechase here at Kalinga Stadium on Friday, the final day of the 58th National Open Athletics Championships.

Putting on a sublime show, the 24 year-old crossed the finishing line in 08:29.80 seconds to win gold and erase Gopal Saini’s national record of 08:30.88, which had stood since 1981. Rakesh Kumar Swami and Durga Bahadur Budha made it a clean sweep for Services as they won silver and bronze, respectively. While the former came in at 08:47.31, Budha clocked 08:48.29. A difference of 18 seconds clearly highlighting Avinash’s dominance.

Competing in men’s 400m hurdles Dharun Ayyasamy, the Asian Games silver medallist, owned the stage. His show not only fetched him the gold medal with a timing of 49:67 seconds but also helped him eclipse the previous meet record of 50.16 seconds held by Chennai’s Santhosh Kumar T. Dharun’s performance is all the more praiseworthy when you consider that he had not practised for 25 days after his feats in Jakarta. He confessed after the race that he did not want to stretch himself too much at this season-ending event.

Dharun, however, was not the only one who broke a meet record. Services’ MP Jaibir, too, went beyond Santhosh’s timing to clock 50.02 seconds, managing silver. Railways’ Jashanjot Singh won bronze with a timing of 50.25 to bag bronze.

Arpinder Singh, too, did not disappoint in men’s triple jump with a jump of 16.62m, in his second attempt, to grab gold for ONGC. D Arivu Selvam won silver with 16.22m while Punjab’s Navjot Singh, despite his tireless attempt to get past Arpinder’s mark, could only muster a distance of 16.06m in his fifth jump to clinch bronze. Having bagged the No. 1 spot within the three regulation jumps, Arpinder preferred to sit out as the other participants toiled hard to better his mark.

The Asiad gold-medallist decided not to push for the meet or national record. In women’s hammer throw final, Sarita Singh clinched gold for the Railways with a throw of 59.84m while teammate Jyoti bagged silver with 56.04m. Haryana’s Poonam Devi jumped 55.81m to claim the bronze medal.

South Asian Junior Athletics

Day One

India wins 11 gold on opening day, May 6, 2018: The Times of India

Indians dominated the proceedings on day one of the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships, winning 11 gold, 10 silver and three bronze to occupy top spot in the medal tally here on Saturday. Arshdeep Singh provided India the first gold medal of the day in the junior men’s javelin throw event with an effort of 71.47m, a new meet record.

A new meet record was also registered in the junior women’s shot put event by India’s Kiran Baliyan who won the gold with a 14.77m throw. Later in the day, Indian juniors also created new meet records in the men’s long jump, women’s 100m hurdles and 1500m events. Lokesh Sathyanathan

(7.74m) won the gold for India in the long jump final while in 100m hurdles Sapna Kumari bagged the gold with a timing of 14.19s.

Overall: Ind 1st, SL 2, Pak 3, BD 4, Maldives 5

Manoj SS, May 6, 2018: The Times of India

HIGHLIGHTS

Indian junior athletes bagged 20 gold, 22 silver and eight bronze medals

They also created new meet records in the men's long jump, triple jump, women's triple jump, 100m hurdles

Hosts Sri Lanka (12-10-19) and Pakistan (0-1-1) took second and third positions

Indian junior athletes clinched overall title in the 3rd South Asian Junior Athletics Championships (SAJAC) which concluded at Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. At the end of two-day meet, they bagged 20 gold, 22 silver and eight bronze medals to put India on top of the medals table. Hosts Sri Lanka (12-10-19) and Pakistan (0-1-1) took second and third positions.

Bangladesh (two bronze medals), Maldives (one bronze medal), Nepal, Bhutan were the other competing countries.

Indians also created new meet records in the men's long jump, triple jump, women's triple jump, 100m hurdles, javelin throw and 1500m events.

Kamalraj Kanagraj set new meet record in boys triple jump with a leap of 16.05m. The old record was 15.96m while Ashutosh Chouhan (15.37m) made it 1-2 for India. In girls event, Priyadarshini Suresh set a new meet record in triple jump with a distance of 12.90m while in javelin throw Sanjana Choudhary (48.08) also set a meet record.

Ajay Kumar Bind (boy's 5000m gold, 15:08.40s); Poonam Dinkar Sonune (girls 3000m gold, 9:50.21) were some of the other gold medal winners.

Arshdeep Singh provided India the first gold medal on the first day in the junior boy's javelin throw event with an effort of 71.47m, a new meet record. Sri Lankan duo of Prasanna Ranawaka (61.71m) and Anjana Fonseka (60.47m) won silver and bronze respectively.

A new meet record was also registered in the junior women's shot put event by India's Kiran Baliyan who won the gold with a 14.77m throw. India also grabbed the silver medal in this event through Anamika Das's 14.54m effort while Sri Lanka's Sarisha Gunasekara (11.51m) won the bronze.

Kerala athletes Mohammed Fias and Abigail Arokianathan brought home silver medals in boys 110m hurdles and girls 400m hurdles, respectively.

Lokesh Sathyanathan (7.74m) won the gold for India in the long jump final while in 100m hurdles Sapna Kumari bagged the gold with a timing of 14.19s. Durga Deore clocked 4:31.38 in 1500m to add one more gold to India's tally.

In the 4x100m relay races, Indian junior men won gold while the women's team settlesd for silver medal.

Other important Indian medallists:

Junior girls: Nanhi (400mH, 1:02.06s)Punitha Ramasamy (gold, long jump, 5.95m), Ajay (gold, discus throw, 50.11m), Ashish Bhalothia (bronze, discus throw, 46.52m), Pragyan Sahu (silver, 100m hurdles, 14.98s), Chaitrali Gujar (silver, 100m, 12.24s), Subha Venkatesan (silver, 400m, 55.18s), Rachna Gujar (bronze, 400m, 55.70s), Poonam Sonune (silver, 1500m, 4:36.65), Abigail Arokianathan (silver, 400m hurdles 1:02.45s), Abhinaya sudhakara Shetty (bronze, high jump, 1.69m), silver in 4x400m

Junior boys: Ashish Bhalothia (gold shot put, 18.53m, NMR, OMR, 17.89m Shakti Solanki), Sahib Singh (silver. shot but. 17.75m) Gurjeet Singh (silver, high jump, 2.00m), Rishabh Rishiwar (silver, long jump, 7.43m), Kunal Choudhary (gold, 110m hurdles, 14.50s), Mohammed Fias (silver, 110m hurdles, 14.55s), Prajwal Ravi (gold, 100m, 10.81s), Akash Kumar (bronze, 100m, 10.89s), Ankit (gold, 1500m, 3:51.52), Ajit Kumar (3:53.45, Aman (silver, 400mH, 52.56s BMR, OMR 52.91s Jithin Paul in 2007), Dhval Mahesh U (53.35s), silver in 4x400m, Nithin S Balakumar (silver, 200m, 21.63s), Alkash kumar (bornze 200m, 21.86m).

Women: Hima first Indian woman to win gold at Under-20

July 13, 2018: The Times of India

Hima Das scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships as she clinched the top spot in the women’s 400m final race on the third day of competitions here.

The 18-year-old Das clocked 51.46s to win the gold. She now joins the illustrious company of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold in Poland in the last edition in 2016 in a world record effort. In fact, Das is the first Indian track athlete to have won a medal in the history of this competition. The previous medal winners at the World Junior Championships were Seema Punia (bronze in discus in 2002) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze in discus in 2014).

Das was a favourite to win gold as she is the U-20 season leader in this quarter-mile event. She clocked an Indian U-20 record of 51.32 sec to finish sixth in Gold Coast CWG.

2019

A summary of the year

Hindol Basu and Rohit Bharadwaj, Dec 29, 2019 The Times of India

DOHA DISASTER

Just when fans began to hope that their track and field athletes would build upon their brilliant show at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, they failed miserably at the IAAF World Championships in Doha. A depleted Indian contingent of 26 athletes was unable to win a single medal, raising fears of a dismal show at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Injuries played a part too with prominent athletes like ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das largely sidelined for most of the year. Doping violations and age-fudging only added to the country’s woes with the biggest offender being half-miler Gomathi Marimuthu, who was stripped of her gold she won at the Asian Championships after testing positive for steroids.

Asian Athletics Championships 

Racing: two silver, three bronze

April 22, 2019: The Times of India

India race to two silver, three bronze

New National Mark By Dutee; Hima Pulls Out

Doha:

It was a bitter-sweet day for India on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships as their athletes bagged five medals and set a national record but medal prospect Hima Das pulled out of women’s 400m with a back spasm in Doha.

Annu Rani claimed a silver in women’s javelin throw and Avinash Mukund Sable came second in men’s 3000m steeplechase after Parul Choudhary opened India’s account with a bronze in 5000m. MR Povamma added to the tally in women’s 400m, while Gavit Murli Kumar won a bronze in men's 10000m.

Annu Rani’s 60.22 metre throw in her first attempt was enough to earn her the silver, behind Huihui Lyu of China (65.83), who set a new championship record for the gold medal.

“I was keen on doing well this evening. I knew I had trained well for the event,” Annu Rani said. “I was pumped up and would have got my career best today had I not thrown from far behind the line,” she said referring to her first throw.

Sable, with a timing of 8:30.19 finished behind gold winner John Kibet Koech of Bahrain who finished at 8:25.87.

Dutee Chand set a new national record in women's 100m as she topped her heat to make the semifinals. She bettered her own mark when she finished first in the fourth and final heat in 11.28 seconds. Her previous record was 11.29 seconds which she had set last year in Guwahati.

She could not touch the 11.24 second qualification mark for the World Championships, to be held in Doha in September-October. “I improved my timing and made a national record. I hope I will do well in the final and win the gold,” Dutee was quoted as saying by AIFF on Twitter.

There was, however, disappointment when Hima failed to advance in the women's 400m event when she pulled out with a back spasm. The girl from Assam started the race before being forced to stop by the injury.

Gold for Gomathi, Toor; Dutee disappoints

April 23, 2019: The Times of India

Golden show by Gomathi, Toor; Dutee disappoints

Doha:

Gomathi Marimuthu and Tajinder Pal Singh Toor won India's first gold medals at the Asian Championship in Doha, a day sprinter Dutee Chand recorded her second straight national record but failed to finish on the podium in women's 100m.

Toor, the Asian Games champion, stayed true to his billing as the title favourite as he came up with an effort of 20.22m to claim the discus gold. His season-best throw pipped China's Jiaxiang Wu of China. The Chinese threw to a distance of 20.03m to finish ahead of Kazakhstan's Ivan Ivanov who came up with 19.09 to settle for bronze.

Shivpal Singh came up with a personal best of 86.23 to take the javelin throw silver behind Cheng Chao-Tsun of Chinese Taipei threw the spear to 86.72m.

Dutee Chand, who had set a national record in the heats on the first day of the competition on Sunday, raised hopes with another record in the semifinals on Monday. She recorded a timing of 11.26s in the semifinals to erase the earlier record which stood at 11.28. However, she failed to meet expectations in the final as she finished fifth with a timing of 11.44s. A semifinal-like performance could have fetched her a silver in the event, which was won by Olga Safronova of Kazakhstan (11.17s). China's Liang Xiaojing took the silver at 11.28.

Apart from the two gold medals, India also won three medals – including a silver through Shivpal Singh in men's javelin throw. Saritaben Gayakwad won a bronze in women's 400m hurdles while Jabir MP won the other bronze, in men's 400m hurdles.

Gomathi won the women's 800m race with her personal best timing of 2:02.70. China’s Chunyu Wang won silver after clocking 2:02.96 while Kazakhstan’s Margarita Mukasheva settled for bronze with a timing of 2:03.83. Gomathi stayed in the third position for the majority of the race before shifting gears in the final stretch to reign supreme.

Silver for Swapna, mixed relay team

April 24, 2019: The Times of India

Swapna, mixed relay team bag silver medals

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Swapna Barman took India's medal haul at the Asian Athletics Championships to 11 after she secured the heptathlon silver with 5993 points in Doha on Tuesday. The 4x400m mixed relay team later added a silver to the tally for India late in the evening.

The 22-year-old Swapna Barman found it hard to bridge the gap that she had conceded to 2015 champion Ekaterina Vornina (Uzbekistan) on the first day after the shot put event despite chalking up a personal best of 12.76. Purnima Hembram, the other Indian hepathlete in the fray, finished fifth.

“I am not very happy, I am not pleased with my result in javelin throw this morning. Preparation was not good. I am an injury queen you know (laughs)... I had a problem in ankle,” Barman said after the race.

MR Poovamma, V Vismaya, Muhammed Anas and Rajiv Arokia combined to claim the 4x400 relay mixed silver behind Bahrain.

India’s new-look women’s 4x100m relay team of Archana Suseendran, Veeramani Revathi, Kunnath Ranga and Dutee Chand clocked 43.81 seconds, but finished fourth behind China, Kazakhstan and Bahrain. Only two-tenths of a second separated the Indian team from a podium finish.

Dutee recovered from the disappointment of not winning a medal in the women’s 100m to post a reasonably quick 23.33 seconds time in finishing ahead of the pack in the 200m semifinal heats. She rallied over the last 50m to push China’s Kong Lingwei to second place.

Ajay Kumar Saroj showed a good turn of speed after the bell to qualify for the men’s 1500m final in a time of 3:49.20. Parul Chaudhary clocked a personal best time of 10:03.43 to finish fifth in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.

Czech event: Hima, Anas win gold

Top Indian sprinters Hima Das and Mohammad Anas won a gold each in women’s and men’s 300m races respectively at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in Czech Republic. This was Hima’s sixth gold in European races since July 2 though the field in most of them has been mediocre. Her last win was on July 20 when she clinched a gold in her pet 400m event at Nove Mesto in Czech Republic.

 India ranks 4th overall, Chitra wins gold

April 25, 2019: The Times of India

Chitra gives India its third gold Doha:

P U Chitra led the charge with a gold in women’s 1500m race as India picked up five medals on the fourth and final day of competitions to end at fourth at the medal tally in the Asian Athletics Championships here on Wednesday.

Chitra defended the title she had won in the 2017 edition to give India its third gold medal while Ajay Kumar Saroj (men's 1500m) and the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams clinched a silver each at the Khalifa Stadium.

Sprinter Dutee Chand added a bronze in women’s 200m to take India's medal tally to three gold, eight silver and seven bronze.

India had won 29 medals (12 gold, 5 silver, 12 bronze) in the last edition in Bhubaneswar in 2017, topping the medal tally for the first time. This time, Bahrain topped the medal tally with 11 gold, 7 silver and 4 bronze, followed by China (10 gold, 12 silver, 8 bronze) and Japan (5 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze). This was the second time since 1983 that China has been pushed to the second spot. India did it in 2017 while Bahrain did the same this time.

India's tally of 18 medals can be considered creditable as the team was a depleted one without some of the medal contenders, including star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, due to injuries.

The championships as usual did not see some of the best athletes in the world who preferred to focus on the World Championships to be held at the same venue in September-October.

For India, the spotlight of the final day fell on Chitra as she beat two Bahraini runners to clinch the gold in the women's 1500m race. She overtook Bahraini runner Tigest Gashaw just a few metres before the finishing line to win the race in 4 minute 14.56 seconds.

This was India's third gold of the championships after Gomathi Marimuthu (women's 800m) and Tejinder Pal Singh Toor (men's shot put) won a yellow metal each on the second day on Monday.

Gashaw clocked 4:14.81 for the silver while another Bahraini Mutile Winfred Yavi took the bronze in 4:16.18. “Got a little nervous towards the end being next to Bahraini runner (Gashaw Tigest). She beat me to third place in Asian Games. I had to really push hard in the end,” said the 23-year-old Chitra who had won a bronze in the Jakarta Asian Games.

Chitra had won gold in the 2017 edition in Bhubaneswar in 4:17.92.

While Chitra defended her title, her male counterpart Saroj (1500m) and the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams failed to do the same.

Saroj, who had won gold in 2017, clocked a season best time of 3 minute 43.18 seconds to clinch a silver behind Bahrain's Abraham Kipchirchir Rotich who clocked 3:42.85.

The women's 4x400m relay quartet of Prachi, Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK Vismaya finished second with a time of 3:32.21, behind the Bahraini quartet who clocked 3:32.10. PTI

Invitation athletics, Nijmegen

Jinson betters own national 1500m record

June 17, 2019: The Times of India

Jinson betters own national 1500m record

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Reigning Asian Games champion Jinson Johnson set a national record in men’s 1500m at an invitation athletics competition in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

In his first meet after recovering from a calf-injury that he suffered during Doha 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in April, Jinson raced well to finish sixth clocking 3.37.62 seconds. The performance was better than his own previous national record performance of 3:37.86s during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Jinson is trying to gain a berth for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in these European competitions and the qualification standard for Tokyo is set at 3:35s.

Another Indian athlete, PU Chitra, competing in the women’s 1500m clinched gold with a time of 4:13.52s.

Meanwhile, M Sreeshankar finished second in men’s long jump, with a distance of 7.93m, in his debut European meet in Paris on Friday night.

Kutno: Hima, Anas, Jabir win gold

Sprinter Hima Das claimed her second international gold in women’s 200m at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland. Hima clocked 23.97 seconds. Muhammed Anas won the gold in men’s 200m with a time of 21.18 seconds while MP Jabir claimed the men’s 400m hurdles gold in 50.21 secs. Indians swept the women’s 400m race through P Saritaben (52.77 secs), Sonia Baishya (53.73 secs) and R Vithya (53.73 secs).

Kladno Athletics Meet

Anas improves own records; gold for Hima

July 15, 2019: The Times of India

Mohammad Anas bettered his own national record in men’s 400m to clinch a gold and qualify for the World Championships, while Hima Das won the women’s 200m event for her third international triumph in less than two weeks at the Kladno Athletics Meet in Czech Republic. The 24-year-old Anas clocked 45.21 seconds as he won an easy race, finishing nearly one second ahead of silver winner Omelko Rafal (46.19) of Poland in the race run.

Apart from re-writing his earlier national record of 45.24 seconds which he recorded last year, he also qualified for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha from September 27 to October 6. The World Championships qualification time is 45.30 seconds in men’s 400m race.

In the women’s 200m race, Hima clocked a much-improved time of 23.43 seconds to win the gold. She has a personal best of 23.10 sec in 200m. This was her third international gold in 11 days.

In her first competitive 200m race of the year, the 19-year-old Assam runner had clocked 23.65 seconds on her way to gold at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland on July 2. After that, she won her second 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7 with a time of 23.97 seconds. At the Czech Republic city of Kladno, the Indian trio of Vipin Kasana, Abhishek Singh and Davinder Singh Kang took the top three spots in men’s javelin final with efforts of 82.51m, 77.32m and 76.58m respectively.

In men’s shot put event, national record holder Tejinder Pal Singh Toor managed a creditable best throw of 20.36m to win the bronze. He holds the national record of 20.75m. In the women’s 400m, V K Vismaya clocked her personal best of 52.54 seconds to win the race. Saritaben Gayakwad was third with 53.37.

Meanwhile, in the XXII International Memorial Competition in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Indians also bagged 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze, with national record holder M Sreeshankar winning the long jump event with a creditable 7.97m.

The other gold winners were: Archana in 100m (11.74 sec), Harsh Kumar in 400m (46.76 sec), Lili Das in 1500m (4:19.05), Sahil Silwal in javelin throw (78.50m), women’s 4x100 relay (45.81 sec). Rahul (1500m; 3:50.69), Jisna Mathew (400m, 53.76) and Gajanand Mistry (400m, 47.23) won silver medals, while Rohit Yadav bagged a bronze in javelin throw (73.33m). PTI

National Inter-District Junior Meet

Dec 21, 2019 Times of India

New Delhi:

Rampant age-fudging continued unabated in athletics as 51 youngsters were found over-aged while another 169 fled to avoid verification test during last month’s National Inter-District Junior Meet in Tirupati, which was touted as one of the biggest talent hunt programmes in the world. A record 4500 boys and girls in the under-14 and under-16 age groups from 494 districts competed in the National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) held in Tirupati from November 24 to 26.

But on the basis of the age verification tests, which included dental examination and Tanner Whitehouse 3 (TW3) procedure, 51 were declared over-age by the Athletics Federation of India while 124 did not turn up at the AFI counter for medical tests after entering their names for the meet. Another 65 youngsters did not come for the TW3 tests after they turned up for dental examination. The TW3 test is the scientific way to detect age fraud. During the test, a digital X-ray of the left hand (palm and wrist/lower end of forearm) is taken to determine the bone age. The system comprises the detailed analysis of the two most important bones in TW3: the radius and ulna wrist bones.

National Junior Athletic Championships

Records: Rachna in U-20 800m; Parvej Khan in boys 800m

Guntur: Haryana’s Rachna marked her shift from being a single-lapper to 800m with a memorable victory in the 35th National Junior Athletic Championships, breaking Tintu Luka’s 11-year-old under-20 meet record with a 2:06.12 effort.

Luka had set the meet mark at 2:07.48 in Mysore in 2008. With a bit more challenge and effort, Rachna could have made a crack at Luka’s national U-20 record (2:05.21, also set in 2008) but the Haryana girl had to be content with the meet mark. There were two national marks rewritten in the under-16 age-group. Haryana’s Parvej Khan secured the boys 800m record.

National Open Athletics Championships

Dutee betters national mark

Oct 12, 2019: The Times of India

A little less than a fornight ago, Dutee Chand finished the heats at a heartbreaking seventh place and lost the chance of a berth in the finals of the World Championships in Doha. But on Friday, at Birsa Munda Stadium in Ranchi, she reignited her hopes for a place in the Tokyo Olympics by setting a new national record in the marquee sprint event with a timing of 11.22 seconds, 0.26 seconds faster than her disappointing run at the Worlds.

The record time, set in the semifinals of the 59th National Open Athletics, finally gave her sole ownership of the national record — after she had equalled the longstanding time of 11.26 by Rachita Mistry in 2000, at the Asian Championships in April this year. Dutee clocked 11.25 seconds in the final on Friday, leaving Archana Suseendran and Himashree Roy in the wake.

The performance will come as a consolation to the 22-year-old, who had managed 11.48 in Doha. A time of 11.22 seconds – or even 11.25 seconds in the heats – would have seen her secure a semifinal berth there. “A couple of days ago, I had the wrong belief that my body was tired at the end of the season. I recovered well to be able to break the last national mark twice this evening,” she said, after winning the final with a measure of comfort.

Her Odisha statemate Amiya Kumar Malik, who has been waiting through the whole season and more to find his rhythm and that elusive gold medal, won the bragging rights as the fastest man at the championships. He won the men’s 100m in 10.46 seconds, breaking the beam a hundredth of a second ahead of Malaysia’s Jonathan Anak Nyepa. The photo-finish cameras had to identify Gurindervir Singh (Punjab) as the winner of the bronze medal by a margin of 0.0044 seconds from his teammate Harjit Singh. But it was the manner in which Amiya Malik stormed to the finish that caught everyone’s eye. For someone who had not gone under 10.50 seconds in a long while, he will cherish this drought-ending victory.

MP Jabir (AFI) once again stamped his authority on the men’s 400m hurdles meet record, winning the final in 49.41 seconds. He improved on the mark of 49.67 seconds set by Ayyasamy Dharun (Tamil Nadu) last year. Dharun himself, running only his third hurdles race since recovering from an injury, will be pleased that he clocked 49.50 seconds for the second place, leaving T Santhosh Kumar (Services) in the third place.

Earlier, in a close finish, Haryana’s Rahul Rohilla, 23, won the men’s 20m race walking head of the more seasoned K Ganapathi (AFI) and Sandeep Kumar (Services). The Group B winner of the event in the National Race Walking Championship in Chennai in February, he finished on top of a better field this time.

Dutee secures sprint double

Oct 14, 2019: The Times of India

Dutee Chand dug into the reserves of her strength to complete the sprint double in the season-ending 59th National Open Athletics Championships here on Sunday, clocking the fastest time by an Indian this season with a 23.17-second burst in the women’s 200m final at Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium.

Having set the national mark in the 100m, Dutee, representing Odisha, left her challenger Archana Suseendran comfortably behind. She not only topped the Tamil Nadu sprinter’s time of 23.18 seconds clocked in the AFI Grand Prix in Patiala on August 16, but also logged in her own second fastest time behind the 23 seconds timed in the Asian Games last year.

Nove Mesto: 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

JUBILANT JULY: HIMA PICKS UP 5TH GOLD

Nove Mesto (Czech Republic):

Hima Das extended her sensational run by claiming her fifth gold of the month as she returned to her pet 400m competition with a season-best time of 52.09 seconds here. The timing on Saturday slower than her personal best of 50.79 seconds, which she managed at the Jakarta Asian Games and she also narrowly missed out on the World Championships qualifying mark of 51.80. However, it was better than the timing of 52.88, which she managed earlier in the season. It was Hima’s fifth gold medal since July 2 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe. MP Jabir also won a gold in the 400-metre hurdles race, clocking 49.66 but Mohammad Anas settled for a thirdplace finish in the 200m. Nirmal Noah Tom won silver in the 200m event. PTI

Qasanov: 19 medals, including 12 gold

July 8, 2019: The Times of India

Indian athletes clinch 12 gold

Almaty (Kazakhstan):

Indian track and field athletes won a whopping 19 medals, including 12 gold, in the Qasanov Memorial Meet. National record holder long jumper M Sreeshankar led the campaign with a gold-winning performance of 7.88m. Mohd. Salahuddin won a gold in men’s triple jump event with a personal best effort of 16.64m. Sahil Silwal added another gold to India’s kitty by winning the men’s javelin throw event with a personal best effort of 77.40m. Other gold winners are Harsh Kumar (400m), Mohammed Afsal (800m), Ajay Kumar Saroj (1500m), Gagandeep Singh (discus throw), Archana (100m), Lili Das (1500m), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (discus throw), Navjeet Kaur (shot put) and women's 4x100m relay.

Jinson wins silver, qualifies for Worlds

Sep 2, 2019: The Times of India

Asian Games gold medallist Jinson Johnson bettered his own 1500m national record while clinching a silver in the ISTAF Berlin event here on Sunday. Johnson clocked 3 minute 35.24 seconds to finish second behind Joshua Thompson of United States at the Olympic Stadium.

Pardeep wins gold medal

Apia (Samoa):

Pardeep Singh created a new Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category on the way to the 109kg gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships. Vikas Thakur clinched the silver medal in the men's 96kg event.

Tabor: Hima, Anas win

July 18, 2019: The Times of India

Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth 200m gold in a fortnight as she won at the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic. Hima won the race in 23.25 seconds, which had a mediocre field with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic. This was 19-year-old Hima’s fourth gold since July 2 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe.

In men’s 400m, Muhammad Anas won in 45.40 seconds, while compatriots Tom Noah Nirmal came second with a season best effort of 46.59 seconds. K S Jeevan was third with a timing of 46.60 seconds. PTI

World Athletics Championships 

Mixed relay team reaches finals and Tokyo Olympics

Sep 29, 2019: The Times of India

Mixed team makes Oly

Doha:

The mixed team for the relay 4x400m comprising Mohd Anas, VK Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Nirmal Tom qualified for the finals and booked a place for Tokyo Olympics in the process.

Indian hurdler MP Jabir put on an inspiring show in the 400m semifinal, finishing 5th with a timing of 49.71m, but failed to make the cut for the final. Running in Lane 9 in the third semifinal, Jabir briefly led the race before running out of the steam, and finishing 16th overall among 23.

Jabir became the second Indian hurdler after Joseph Abraham in Osaka 2007 (with 49.27) to qualify for the worlds semifinal after he finished third in his heat, clocking 49.62s to finish 11th overall among 39 athletes. Dharun Ayyasamy, the other Indian in the fray failed to qualify as he finished sixth in Heat 5 with a clock timing of 50.55 seconds. Overall he finished 27th out of 39 athletes who participated in the race.

Earlier on Saturday, Dutee Chand failed to qualify for women’s 100m semifinals when she finished seventh in Heat 3 with a timing of 11.48 sec. She finished 37th overall. Dutee had failed to meet the qualifying standards for world championships in 2019 but she made it to Doha meet after getting an invite from the IAAF.

Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar failed to reach the final after finishing 22nd with a best of 7.62m.

Annu Rani in finals

Oct 1, 2019: The Times of India

Top Indian woman javelin thrower Annu Rani qualified for the final round of the World Athletics Championships by smashing her own national record here on Monday. The 27-year-old Annu sent the iron spear to a distance of 62.43m in her second round throw, bettering her earlier national record of 62.34m, which she achieved in March, to book a place for Tuesday’s finals.

In the process, Annu became the first Indian to reach the finals of the women’s javelin throw in the World Championships. The athlete from Meerut finished third in Group A and qualified for the finals as the fifth best performer of the qualification round. Only two javelin throwers, Asian champion Lyu Huihui (67.27m) of China and Christin Hussong

(65.29m) of Germany, could cross the automatic qualification mark of 63.50m while another 10, including Annu, made up the 12, who will compete in the finals. Annu opened with a 57.05m before coming up with her careerbest throw in the second attempt. She had a 60.50m in her third and final throw.

World leader and Asian Games champion Liu Shiying (63.48m) of China and Ratej Martina (62.87m) of Slovenia finished ahead of Annu in Group A, while reigning Olympic champion Sara Kolak of Croatia was sixth with a best throw of 60.99m.

The other two Indians who competed on Monday, Archana Susheendran and Anjali Devi, failed to go past the first round in the women’s 200m and 400m, respectively.

India finish 7th in mixed relay

Oct 1, 2019: The Times of India

India finish 7th in mixed relay

Doha: The Indian 4x400m mixed relay team finished seventh in the final with a season best effort here. The team of Muhammed Anas, VK Vismaya, Jisna Mathew and Tom Nirmal Noah clocked three minutes, 15.77 seconds to finish seventh in the field of eight countries on Sunday, just ahead of Brazil.

US took the gold in a world record time of 3:09.34. Jamaica (3:11.78) and Bahrain (3:11.82) secured the silver and bronze respectively. AGENCIES

Annu finishes eighth

Annu became the first Indian woman javelin thrower to qualify for the final round of the World Championships but in the end finished eighth here. She broke her own national record in the qualification round on Monday with a throw of 62.43m but failed short of the distance in the final as she could only produce a best of 61.12m from the eight attempts.

 Avinash breaks national record but does not reach finals

Oct 2, 2019: The Times of India

India's Avinash Sable broke his own national record but it was not enough for him to qualify for the finals of the men's 3000m steeplechase in the World Championships here on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Indian clocked 8 minute 25.23 seconds to finish seventh in first round heat number 3 and 20th overall out of 44 athletes who completed the race.

His earlier national record was 8:28.94 in March this year during the Federation Cup. He thus ran more than three seconds better than his earlier national record.

The top three in each of the three heats and the next six fastest qualify for the final race. PTI

Avinash makes it to steeplechase final

Oct 3, 2019: The Times of India

India’s Avinash Sable qualified for the men’s 3000m steeplechase final under dramatic circumstances at the World Athletics Championships here. The 25-year-old from Mandwa in Maharashtra thus became the first Indian man to reach the finals of a track event in the World Championships.

Avinash initially failed to qualify for the finals despite bettering his own national record in an eventful first round heat but was later included among the men’s 3000m steeplechase finalists after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) successfully protested that he was obstructed by other athletes during the race on Tuesday.

He clocked 8 minute 25.23 seconds, bettering his earlier national record of 8:28.94, to finish seventh in heat number 3 and 20th overall out of 44 athletes who completed the race. He was involved in two incidents during the race that blocked his path and thereby slowing him down for no fault of his.

The AFI later filed an appeal, claiming that Avinash was obstructed by other athletes during the race, with the request that he be advanced to the final round.

One hour later, the race referee, after examining video footages, agreed that Avinash was significantly obstructed on two occasions. India’s protest was accepted and under Rule 163.2 (obstruction), Avinash was included for the final to be held on Friday. There was no change in Avinash’s position but he has been added as the 16th competitor for the final race. PTI

Toor, Jinson crash out

India's Asiad gold medallist duo of shot putter Tejinder Pal Singh Toor and 1500m runner Jinson Johnson crashed out of the World Athletics Championships after failing to qualify for the finals of their respective events.

The 24-year-old Toor produced a season's best effort of 20.43m to finish eighth in the Group B qualification round and 18th overall out of 34 competitors while Jinson ran a below par 3 minutes 39.86 seconds to end 10th in his first round heats on Thursday. He finished 34th overall out of 43 runners.

Sable 13th, qualifies for Olympics

Tushar Dutt , Oct 6, 2019: The Times of India

Steeplechaser Avinash Sable, 24, made his maiden World Championships participation a memorable one by qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Maharashtra athlete ran 8:21.37 mins to achieve the Tokyo qualifying mark of 8:22.00 minutes.

The armyman, who became the first male athlete to qualify for a track final at the Worlds, finished 13th out of 15 participants in the 3000m steeplechase final at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha. In the process, he bettered his own National Record twice in four days.

It was the fourth occasion in the last one year when Sable has created a new national record. Last year, he broke Gopal Saini’s 37-year-old mark of 8:30.88 mins by clocking 8:29.80 mins.

In March, he clocked 8:28.84m. In the heats, he clocked 8:25.23 mins to better the record again. On Friday, he ran in 8:21.37mins to rewrite the NR.

“I was a little down in confidence after I got blocked in the heats. But I tried to gather myself when my protest was accepted and I was allowed to run in the final,” Avinash told TOI from Doha.

A progression of .08s is commendable in a track event, but his coach Amrish Kumar Adhana felt the timing could have been better.

Meanwhile, Indian women’s 4x400m relay team and men’s javelin thrower Shivpal failed to qualify for the finals. The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team finished 11th overall in the first round heats to crash out despite running the season’s best.

The quartet of Jisna Mathew, MR Poovamma, VK Vismaya and Venkatesan Subha clocked 3 min 29.42 seconds to finish sixth out of eight teams in heat number one.

Gopi 21st in marathon

Oct 7, 2019: The Times of India

Asian champion Gopi Thonakal finished 21st in the men’s marathon as India ended their World Athletics Championships campaign with mixed results here on Sunday. The 27-member Indian team was not expected to win any medal but it performed better than expected in this Worlds with three finalists — in mixed 4x400m relay, men’s 3000m steeplechase and women’s javelin throw. Gopi clocked 2 hours, 15 minute and 57 seconds to end among the top half of the 55 runners who completed the race.

World Para-Athletics

Sharad wins silver, Mariyappan bronze

Nov 16, 2019: The Times of India

India’s celebrated para high-jumpers Sharad Kumar and Mariyappan Thangavelu qualified for next year’s Tokyo Paralympics after claiming the silver and the bronze medal respectively in the World Para-Athletics Championships here. Two-time Asian Para Games champion Sharad Kumar cleared the bar with season’s best effort of 1.83 metres, while Mariyappan, a Rio Paralympic goldmedallist, settled for the bronze, also with a season’s best performance of 1.80 metres here on Thursday evening. PTI

2 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze: India’s best gaul

Nov 17, 2019: The Times of India

India signed off the campaign at the World Para Athletics Championship with their biggest ever haul — nine medals — finishing 24th in the nine-day competition here. Until this edition, London 2017 had been India's best-ever show, where the para athletes finished with five medals (one gold) in joint-34th place.

Here, India won two gold, two silver and five bronze besides a few fourth-place finishes, securing 13 qualifying spots for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. China topped the medals tally with 59 medals including 25 gold. Brazil (39) and Great Britain (28) followed China.

Asian Para Games 2018 champion javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary stood out by setting a new world record (F44) on the way to clinching the gold with a personal best of 65.80m in men's javelin F64 category. PTI

2020

National Championships: Bhawana Jat’s record

Rohit Bhardwaj, February 16, 2020: The Times of India

Bhawana Jat made the country proud by qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in the 20km race walk event with a record-breaking time of 1 hour 29 minutes 54 seconds, six seconds below the Games’ cut-off mark at the 7th National Championships in Ranchi. Uttar Pradesh’s Priyanka Goswami came second, missing the qualifying mark by 36 seconds, with a time of 1:31.36 sec.

A ‘determined’ Bhawana overcame self-doubt and numerous financial hurdles before etching her name in the record books. She bettered her previous best of 1 hour 38 minutes 30 seconds clocked at the National Open in October last year by a massive eight-plus minutes.

Becoming a sportsperson was a tough grind for Bhawana, a farmer’s daughter from a small village Kabra in Rajsamand district. Her father Shankar Lal Jat was the sole bread-winner in the family, cultivating a small piece of land, till her employment in the Indian Railways in 2016 on a sports quota changed things drastically. A tip from a physical education teacher at the Govt School Kabra, who spotted her talent, prompted her to take up running at age 14.

She represented her school in the district level tournaments in 2010, winning accolades. She went on to win gold in the Rajasthan State Atletics Championships in 2010, prompting her school teachers to ask her parents to let her pursue her passion and it could change the family’s financial situation. “I had never thought of becoming a sportsperson but my PT teacher in govt school told me that I have an athletic build and I should try running. It could help me land a government job on sports quota. That was the time I took up the sport. Today, I am happy that all the hard work has borne fruit,” Bhawana told TOI from Ranchi.

2021

Mixed 4x400m relay U-20 team wins bronze in World Championships

August 18, 2021: The Press Trust of India

Indian mixed 4x400m relay team wins bronze in U-20 World Athletics Championships

(Eds: Adds more results and quotes)

Nairobi, Aug 18 (PTI) The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team on Wednesday won a bronze to clinch the countrys fifth medal in the history of U-20 World Athletics Championships here. The Indian quartet of Bharath S, Priya Mohan, Summy and Kapil clocked 3:20.60 seconds to finish third in the final.

Nigeria and Poland won the gold and silver medals with timings of 3:19.70s and 3:19.80s respectively.

India had entered the final as the second best team overall with a championship record timing of 3:23.36s in the heat races held in the morning.

The record was, however, short-lived as the athletes from Nigeria improved it by finishing their race in heat 2 with a timing of 3:21.66s.

There was a change in the Indian quartet in the final from the heat race with Bharath S running in place of Abdul Razzaq. Barath had clocked 47.55s recently during the Federation Cup National Junior Championships in Sangrur.

For Priya and Summy, the mixed 4x400m relay final was their third race of the day as both also featured in the individual 400m heats. "We were inspired by Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. We wanted to show the world that his win at the Olympics was not a fluke. Our win here will inspire many Indians to take up athletics," Priya Mohan said after the final race.

"It is a wonderful moment for me and my team-mates. It is a dream come true for us to win a medal at an international event and we want to thank World Athletics and our hosts Kenya for making it happen," said Bharath.

Before Wednesdays bronze in mixed 4x400m relay, India had won medals through Seema Antil (bronze in discus throw, 2002), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze in discus throw, 2014), Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra (gold in javelin throw, 2016) and Hima Das (gold in 400m, 2018) in the world U-20 meet.

Priya also qualified for the 400m final after finishing third, clocking 53.79s in heat 3. The final will be held on Saturday. The second Indian in the fray, Summy fizzled out in heat 2 and finished fifth with a timing of 55.43 seconds.

In mens shot put, Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal also qualified for the finals with a best throw of 17.92m.

However, Vipin Kumar faltered in the hammer throw. His best attempt of 63.17m was way below the qualifying mark of 74m. In javelin throw, Kunwer Ajai Singh Rana and Jay Kumar both qualified for the final. Rana threw the spear to 71.05m while Kumar cleared 70.34m. The javelin final will be held on Friday. PTI PDS PDS SSC SSC

Muhammed Hanan world U-18 No. 3 in 110m hurdles

Prasanth Menon, May 12, 2021: The Times of India

KOCHI: Not often does an Indian athlete rise to No. 3 in world rankings in athletics. A 17-year-old from Malappuram, Muhammed Hanan, has done just that by clocking the third-best timing in the 110m hurdles in the U-18 boys category in the latest rankings published by World Athletics.

Hanan achieved the feat at the South Zone Junior Athletics Meet at the Calicut University Stadium in February this year. He clocked 13.80 seconds to grab the gold medal in the meet. Little did he know that the effort would put him just behind South Africans Michael-Jan De Beer and Ismail Mujahid in the latest world rankings released by World Athletics.

“I didn’t even know such a ranking existed till a few days back. I saw my name on the World Athletics website two or three days back and my joy knew no bounds. My timings have improved over the years and the performance at the Calicut University stadium was my best. But I didn’t realise that it would put me on the list of elite athletes in my age category in the world,” said the plus two student of Devdhar Government Higher Secondary School.

Hailing from Tanur in Malappuram district, Hanan got tuned into athletics early as both his elder brothers, Muhammed Harshad and Muhammed Ashique, are hurdlers. In fact, Harshad, who is doing MPES at MG University, Kottayam has taken his younger brother under his wings and gives him regular training. Initially, Hanan and his brothers used to train in the bylanes and beaches of Tanur. Seeing Hanan’s potential, Harshad decided to take him to the Rajiv Gandhi Municipal stadium in Tirur, which has a synthetic track, two years back. The decision has been a turning point in blossoming Hanan’s career.

“Barring lockdown, we have been travelling twice every day to Tirur, which is 12 kilometres away, to train. My confidence has improved after practising there and it is showing in my improved performance,” said Hanan.

Harshad feels there is more to come from his younger brother if he gets the right equipment for training. “He runs on his own spikes, but that is not enough. We don’t have enough sets of hurdles at the stadium and the ones that are there are old and worn out. He also doesn’t have a starting block to train. I am sure all this would make a difference to Hanan’s performance. If someone comes up to sponsor him, I am sure Kerala would add another Olympian to the list,” said Harshad.

World U-20 Championships

A

Biju BabuCyriac, August 20, 2021: The Times of India

The opening day's high, thanks to the 4x400m mixed relay bronze, was followed by disappointment in the Indian camp at the World Athletics U-20 Championships as Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal struggled in the men's shot put final before bringing up the rear.

The Indian, who made the cut in 11th place, fouling his first two throws before managing a best of 17.08m on his third attempt to end a disappointing 12th and last. Juan Gomez of Cuba came up with his best throw of 19.73m to snatch the gold from Belarus’ Yauheni Bryhi who had a personal best of 19.70m. Jephte Vogel (Switzerland, 19.16) took the bronze.

Kamble enters semifinal

Rohan Gautam Kamble got lucky after Qatar's Amar Ebed went out with a false start as he entered the semifinals of the men's 400m hurdles despite finishing last in Heat 5. The Maharashtra athlete finished in 55s.

Earlier, Hardeep Kumar's campaign in men's 400m hurdles ended in pain after he slipped and crashed into the second last hurdle before he recovered to finish Heat 1.

In men’s 800m race, Anu Kumar narrowly missed a semifinal berth while Pooja crashed out in the heats in the women’s category.

B

Biju BabuCyriac, August 21, 2021: The Times of India

Kunwar Ajai Raj Singh Rana raised India’s hopes of another medal in the javelin throw final at the World Athletics U-20 Championships before the Punjab youngster settled for the fifth place on the third day in Nairobi. The day also saw Shaili Singh advance to the women’s long jump final, topping the qualification round.

Shaili, one of India’s brightest medal prospects in Nairobi, produced a best of 6.40m on her third attempt to soar into Sunday’s final, well clear of the qualification mark set at 6.35m.

The 17-year-old Jhansi girl, who trains under Robert Bobby George, opened with a big jump that was just a centimetre short of the qualification mark. She then dipped to 5.98m before jumping back to the top of Group B.

Maya Askag (Sweden, 6.39m) and Lissandra Campos (Brazil, 6.36m) also won automatic final berths.

“Her target was between 6.35 to 6.40m and I’m happy that she managed it. Even her jump was a big one but only that her hand touched down,” George told TOI from Nairobi.

George, who helped his wife Anju Bobby George win the bronze at the 2003 Paris Worlds, is confident that Shaili can jump in the 6.50 to 6.60m range in the final. “Shaili is competing in her first international meet. Yet, she is not afraid of her rivals in the final as she knows they have not shown consistent form,” Robert said.

Rana produced his best of 73.68m in the fourth attempt. Janne Laspa (Finland, 76.46m) took the gold followed by Artur Felfner (Ukraine, 76.32) and Nigerian Chinecherem Nnamdi. (74.48) . The other Indian in the fray, Jay Kumar was sixth with a best of 70.74m.

Among others, Nandini A advanced to the semifinals in women’s 100m hurdles before crashing out. Those who failed to progress were Tejas Shirse (men’s 110m hurdles), Pooja (women’s 1500m), Sunil (men’s 3000m steeplechase) and Shanmuga Srinivas (men’s 200m).

C

Biju BabuCyriac, August 22, 2021: The Times of India

The rigorous high-altitude training during snowy days in Nainital, even as the nation battled the Covid-19 pandemic last year, helped Amit Khatri to win a silver medal on the penultimate day of the World Athletics U-20 Championships on a chilly morning in Nairobi.

The 17-year-old from Rohtak made his international debut a memorable one, winning India’s first medal in race walk on the world stage. In the end, the pre-race favourite’s inexperience hampered his push for the gold as he lost the lead just before the bell.

As Khatri moved towards the water point on the other side and returned, Kenyan Heristone Wanyonyi, who was hot on the Indian’s heels for most part of the race, sped away to the finish line to win the gold in a personal best time of 42:10.84s. Wanyonyi is the first Kenyan to win a race walk gold.

Khatri, who was in the lead from around the 5,600m mark, never managed to catch up with the Kenyan again but the Indian still emerged as a clear second in 42:17.94s. Spain’s Paul McGrath took the bronze in a personal best time of 42:26.11s. It would have been different story if Khatri had managed to better his personal best, a 40:40.97s, set in January this year. The previous best by an Indian in the event in U-20 Worlds was the 22nd spot bagged by Neeraj Rathi in 2012, Barcelona.

“It was my first international meet and competing at the high-altitude made it more difficult. But I made few mistakes at the water point, my mind got disturbed which cost me the gold. But it was a great experience and going forward it will help me,” Khatri told reporters in a virtual interaction from Nairobi. “The home advantage also helped the Kenyan who trains at the same ground. I was also worried about committing fouls.”

Amit is only the third Indian after Neeraj Chopra and Hima Das to win a U-20 Worlds medal.

International race walker Chandan Singh, who has been training Amit for the last three years, was happy with his ward’s fine show. “I was hoping that he would win the gold but still it’s a fine show by Amit as it was his first international competition,” the coach told TOI from Pune.

Priya finishes fourth

Priya Mohan ran a great last curve for her personal best time of 52.77 seconds to finish for the fourth in women’s 400m final. Imaobong Uko (Nigeria, 51.55s), Kornelia Lesiewicz (Poland, 51.97) and Sylvia Chelangat (Kenya, 52.23) finished on the podium. In the women’s 10,000m race walk, Baljeet Kaur recorded her personal best of 48:58.17 as she finished seventh.

D

Biju BabuCyriac, August 23, 2021: The Times of India

In the men’s triple jump, Donald Makimairaj was in medal contention managing a personal best of 15.82m but in the end settled for the fourth place. India also came fourth in women’s 4x400m relay while Ankita did a bit of front running in women’s 5000m before moving out of medal race.

See also

Athletics, India: National marks

Athletics, India: Year-wise performance