Athletics, India: National marks
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Narrowly missing a medal
(See also The Olympics: IndiaI
HEART BREAKS
The Times of India Sep 24 2014
Saurav Ghosal narrowly missed out on winning the gold medal in squash for India (Asiad 2014). TOI takes a look at other occasions where Indian athletes faltered on the doorstep of glory
WOMEN'S 800M, 1986 SEOUL ASIAD
SHINY ABRAHAM'S lane change
Shiny Abraham had just completed her 800m race, way ahead of her competitors. But she was aghast when the race officials announced that she had disqualified. Her fault: She had changed her lane a bit too early in the race. Shiny's mistake had cost India a gold.
She, however, managed to win a silver in another event 400m behind PT Usha. In all, India finished with nine medals in athletics events in Seoul including four gold.
WOMEN'S ARCHERY GUANGZHOU 2010
INDIVIDUAL BRONZE MEDAL PLAYOFF,
DEEPIKA KUMARI'S 2-6 loss against Kwon-un Sil of Korea India have won very few medals in archery and none in the women's individual category so far. Deepika Kumari came tantalisingly close to bag one when she made it to the play-off in the individual event in Guangzhou. She cruised through the first few rounds before losing to eventual winner Yun Ok-hee of Korea. She missed a medal narrowly as she lost to Kwon-un Sil in the bronze medal playoff. There was some consolation for her though, as she teamed up with Dola Banerjee and Rimil Buriuly to claim the bronze in the women's team event.
WOMEN'S TENNIS, 2006 DOHA ASIAD
SINGLES FINAL
SANIA MIRZA 4-6, 6-1, 1-6 loss against Zheng Jie of China She was in top form, having won her group stage matches and the quarterfinal in straight sets. In the semifinal, she beat the then Asian No.1 and top seed Li Na 6-2, 6-2 to book a final berth against Zheng Jie, also of China. Sania started tentatively to lose the first set, but bounced back to draw parity with a 6-1 win in the second. But the scorching heat took its toll as the Indian struggled in the third to lose the match and a chance to win a historic gold for the country. She had her moments to rejoice, however, when hours later she returned to the court with Leander Paes to win the mixed doubles gold medal.
MEN'S 10M AIR PISTOL, INCHEON 2014
TEAM EVENT
INDIA LOSE silver to China by a whisker India and China were level on points after the final in the men's 10m Air Pistol event. Rai (585 points), Samaresh Jung (580) and Prakash Nanjappa (578) took India's score to 1743 points, the same as China. The silver was decided by the number of Xs (bullseye) in which China tallied one more 65 to India's 64.
MEN'S HOCKEY FINAL, 2002 BUSAN GAMES
INDIA'S 3-4 loss against Korea India had it easy in the group stage, winning their first two matches comfortably. The semi-final against Pakistan was a close one, but India held their nerve to advance. However, in the final, nothing seemed to go right for India in they conceded three goals. But things started to change as they pumped in three goals in five minutes. Even though the scores were level at that time, India clearly had the upper hand. But just as they were getting closer to a historic win, Korea scored in the 68th minute to pour water on Indian hopes.
National marks
100m
100m: men
The Times of India, April 29, 2016
10.26 sec : AmiyaMallick. It was heartbreak for Mallick. An extraordinary day for the athlete from Odisha was spoiled due to apulled muscle during the semifinals. Such was his form that he set a new meet record in the heats with 10.35 in the morning before improving the timings to 10.26 sec to set a national record in the semifinals despite pulling a muscle during the race.The injury affected his performance in the final as he finished fourth at 10.51.The earlier record was jointly held by AN Quereshi and Anil Kumar at 10.30.The qualification mark for Rio Games for men 10.16 secs.
100m: women
11.29 sec / 2018: Dutee Chand, age 22 (By way of comparison, the gold medal winners in the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games had clocked 11.33 and 11.48 respectively.)
11.28 seconds Dutee Chand 2019
Previous: 11.33 Sec/ 2016 Odisha sprinter Dutee Chand, then age 20, set a new national record in in the Federation Cup athletics in 2016. Dutee, who has had her share of upheavals in the past, having to fight her way back to the track after winning a court case against the international body (IAAF) following her ouster from the sport due to a hyperandrogenism charge, missed out an Olympic berth by a 100th of a second. The 11.33 seconds that she returned was enough to eclipse the existing record of 11.38 secs set by Rachita Mistry in 2000. The qualification mark for the Rio Olympic Games for women was 11.32 secs
200m
Men
National record: 20.45 seconds: Dharambir Singh (at the fourth Indian GP, Bengaluru, 2016). The previous national record was also by Dharambir Singh: 20.66s (Asian meet in Wuhan, China, 2015). Dharambir has served a two-year ban for doping in 2012.
Women
22.82s, Saraswati Saha, 2002
23.26 s Dhanalakshmi Sekar, 2021 Federation Cup, meet record
23.30s PT Usha, 1998 Federation Cup, meet record
400m
Women
Hima Das 51.46s in 2018
The 18-year-old from Assam, who had clocked the fastest times in the two earlier rounds at Tampere, once again produced a strong finish to bring the historic gold in 51.46s.
India’s long wait for a track gold at an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships is over. Hima Das, who virtually went into the final as the top seed, lived up to that billing taking the women’s 400m gold at the world under-20 athletics championships at Tampere (Finland) on Thursday.
The 18-year-old from Assam, who had clocked the fastest times in the two earlier rounds at Tampere, once again produced a strong finish to bring the historic gold in 51.46s.
She was slightly behind around the 300m but as the others appeared to fade away, Hima – who personal best stands at 51.13s, proved that she had enough gas in the tank to take the medal that mattered.
Two years ago, when javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra stunned the country by winning the under-20 World in Poland, nobody had an inkling that a track gold was just one edition away.
But Hima is no stranger to the big stage. Around this time last year, she took the fifth spot in the 200m at the Youth Worlds in Nairobi. And she was sixth in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April.
Sreeshankar sixth
Kerala’s junior national record holder M. Sreeshankar, who went into the men’s long jump as the world’s fourth best junior jumper this year with his personal best 7.99m, finished sixth on Wednesday night with 7.75m, which came in his second attempt.
Japan’s Yuki Hashioka won the gold with 8.03m and he was the only jumper to cross 8m. Cuban Maikal Y. Vidal, the world leader, took the silver with 7.94m.
Later, Indonesia’s Lalu Muhammed Zohri pulled off a huge surprise, winning the men’s 100m for his country’s first-ever gold at the under-20 Worlds. Running in the eighth lane, Lalu, also the Asian junior champion, clocked 10.18s and emerged as the fastest man.
Hima’s coach Nipon Das, who has been a mentor to the rookie since spotting her in January last year, said her confidence was the key to her success.
“She does not get overawed by anybody and does not care about her opponents. In every race, her goal is to beat the best with better timing,” Nipon told The Hindu.
“Monjai [I wanted this],” Hima had revealed after the race. Nipon pointed out that it was not easy to beat Nirmala, who was six-seven meters ahead in the home stretch.
4x400m relay
Men
3 minutes, 00.91 seconds (2016)
3:02.17 also (2016)
Jul 11 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi) Biju BabuCyriac Bengaluru:
None of the Indian athletes managed to meet the Olympic qualification marks in individual events on Sunday but the men's and women's 4x400m relay squads came up with two stunning performances as they almost booked their berths for the Rio Games in the 3rd Indian Grand Prix here.
Anchored by Arokia Rajiv, the men's quartet, trained by Ukrainian coach Yuri Ogorodnik and also comprising Kunhu Mohammed, Mohammed Anas and A Dharun clocked 3 minutes, 00.91 seconds that shaved off almost two seconds from the the national record time of 3:02.17 set by the same squad in Turkey last month. The new time, clocked with Maldives as the second international team, helped India jump from 18th to 13th spot in the world ranking list. The top-16 nations will make the cut based on the July 12 ranking list.
Rajiv, the 400m bronze winner at the Incheon Asian Games.
The quartet, bettered the 18-year-old [1998?] mark in Turkey .
Women
3:27.88s 2016)
2016: The women's 4x400m relay squad, who are already in the mix for a Rio berth, enhanced their chances with a winning time of 3:27.88s. The team comprising Nirmala, Tintu Luka, MR Poovamma and Anilda Thomas reclaimed the 12th spot in the ranking list after dropping down to 14th on Sunday morning.
800m
Men
National record: Jinson Johnson 1:45.65s (June 2018: National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships in Guwahati)
Sriram Singh: 1:45.77s, July 25, 1976 (Montreal Olympics in 1976)
Jinson Johnson 1:45.98s (at the fourth Indian GP, Bengaluru, 2016). His previous personal best was 1:46.43s at Hyderabad, 2016.
10,000m
Murali 2nd fastest Indian
Murali 2nd fastest Indian in 10,000m, June 13, 2018: The Times of India
Young long distance runner Gavit Murali Kumar bagged a gold in men’s 10,000m race at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, Netherlands to become the second fastest Indian in this event as the country’s track and field athletes continued their build-up for the upcoming Asian Games.
The 21-year-old Kumar, a bright talent from Gujarat, clocked a personal best of 28 minute 43.34 seconds, the best by an Indian in the ongoing season. Current long-distance coach Surendra Singh, who holds the national record of 28:02.89s, has run faster than him on four occasions.
Kumar’s earlier best was 29:33.85 during the Federation Cup in Patiala in March. The men’s 10,000m bronze medal winner in the 2014 Asiad had clocked 28:45.65.
The Gouden Spike is one of the top meetings in The Netherlands. Its current European Athletics status is Outdoor Meetings with National Per mit.
In Poland, Hima Das clocked a personal best of 23.22 in the 200m.
High jump
Men
2.28 metres, set by Tejaswin Shankar, representing Kanasas State University, at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Manhattan, USA, May 2021
2.26m: set by Tejaswin Shankar of Delhi, age 17, at the National Junior Athletics meet, Coimbatore, 2016.
2.25m: set by Harishankar Roy of West Bengal at Asian All-Stars meet in Singapore in 2004.
Junior men
2.26m: set by Tejaswin Shankar of Delhi, age 17, at the National Junior Athletics meet, Coimbatore, 2016.
2.17m: set by S Harshith of Karnataka in 2011.
Javelin throw
Women
63.24m Annu Rani, 2021
62.43m. Annu Rani, earlier
Long jump
Men
8.26m: Murali Sreeshankar, 2021, Federation Cup, Patiala,
8.20m: M Sreeshankar, 2018, at the Open Athletics Championships, Bhubaneshwar
8.19m: Ankit Sharma
Women
National record: 6.83m, Anju Bobby George.
Second best: 6.66m, Neena V (at the fourth Indian GP, Bengaluru, 2016).
National Open Athletics Championships
Sreeshankar breaks long jump record
Sam Chakraborty, September 28, 2018: The Times of India
Gavit Wins His Second Gold In National Athletics
M Sreeshankar finished sixth during the recently-concluded Asian Games in Jakarta and few expected the long jumper to script a recordshattering feat at the 58th National Open Athletics Championships here on Thursday. The 19-year-old had other ideas, though. Under lights, the Kerala athlete produced a stunning jump of 8.20m to break Ankit Sharma’s national record of 8.19m. The clinching jump came in his fifth attempt.
Giving him company on the podium was Services’ Jinesh Vo, who jumped 7.95m while Sahil Mahabali of Haryana finished third with a jump of 7.81m.
Railways discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, too, eked out a performance that would be remembered for a long time. With three of her five attempts declared foul because of overstepping, Kaur’s sixth and final throw was her chance at redemption and she grabbed it with both hands. Kaur’s last throw went as far as 56.11m and brought her the coveted gold medal. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and Sandeep Kumari ensured a clean sweep for the Railways as they won silver and bronze medals, respectively. While Dhillon threw 54.84m, Kumari recorded a throw of 53.96m.
Karnataka’s Khyati Vakharia had set her sights on breaking the national and meet record in pole vault which stood in the name of VS Surekha at a height of 4.15m. While the 29 year-old did muster a height of 4.00m to land the gold, she failed in three consecutive attempts to hit the 4.05m mark that would have allowed her to try further. Krishna Rachan of Railways gave her a good fight to finish with silver at 3.95m while Vakharia’s teammate Maria Jaison clinched bronze with 3.70m.
Gujarat’s Murlikumar Gavit, who had won gold in the 10,000m men’s final, won his second gold in men’s 5000m as he crossed the line in 14:35.96 seconds. Composed and alert, Gavit produced another stellar performance to win comfortably.
Marathon
Thonakal first Indian man to win Asian Marathon
Runner Gopi makes history, November 27, 2017: The Times of India
Becomes 1st Indian Man To Win Asian Marathon Title
Gopi Thonakal became the first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship after he achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event here in China Thonakal clocked 2 hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds to clinch the gold. Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged the silver with a timing of 2:15:51s, while Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won bronze by clocking 2:16:14s.
The 29-year-old from Kerala had won the New Delhi Marathon in 2.15.37 earlier this year. He was 28th in the London World Championships in August with a timing of 2:17:13. In the Rio Olympics last year, he had clockedhis personal bestof 2.15.25 while finishing 25th.
“I am proud to have won a gold for my country. I am also proud to become the first Indian man to have won a gold in this championship,” Thonakal said after the race.
Thonakal is the third Indian overall to have won a gold in the event. Asha Agarwal won the women’s title in 1985 when the event was a part of the biennial Asian Track and Field Championships. Sunita Godara won the women’s title in 1992 after the event was moved out as a separate one away from the Asian Athletics Championships in 1988.
Race Walking
Men
IAAF World Cup 2012: bronze
August 3, 2019: The Times of India
Indian men’s 20km race walk team upgraded to bronze
New Delhi:
Seven years after India missed a podium place at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Russia, the country was handed a bronze medal upgrade following disqualification of a member of the second-placed Ukrainian team for dope violation.
The Indian team of K T Infra, Babubhai Panucha and Surinder Singh had finished fourth in the men’s 20km team event behind China, Ukraine and Australia in May 2012 at Saransk.
But Ukrainian race walker Ruslan Dmytrenko was disqualified after seven years on the basis of his biological passport analysis, and that led to the Indian team’s result being upgraded to bronze. The performances of three best finishers in the 20km individual event was counted to decide the team rankings and India collected 68 points to finish fourth originally.
After the annulment of Dmytrenko’s result, India and Ukraine were tied on points. But India has a higher position finish of the last (third) walker (29th as against 51st of Ukraine) to break the tie and got the bronze.
Dmytrenko had won a bronze in the individual event and he will be stripped off that medal as well.
“Men’s 20km Race Walking Team is elevated to Bronze Medal position after 7 years at IAAF Race Walking World Cup held at Saransk #Russia in 2012,” the Athletics Federation of India tweeted. PTI
Women: 20-km
1:28:45: Priyanka Goswami, at the 8th open national and 4th international race walking championship in Ranchi, 2021
1:29.54: Bhawna Jat, 2020
Steeplechase
Men: 3000m
8:20:20s Avinash Sable, 2021 March Patiala
8:21:37s Avinash Sable, 2019 Doha World Championships final
8:25:23s Avinash Sable, 2019 Doha World Championships heats
8:28:94s Avinash Sable, 2019 Federation Cup
8:29:80s Avinash Sable, 2018 Open Nationals
8:30:88s Gopal Saini
2018: Services’ 24 year-old Sable Avinash: 08:29.80 seconds
1981: Gopal Saini’s national record of 08:30.88
Women
2016 Aug: Lalita Babar (9 minutes, 19.76 seconds) clipped nearly seven seconds off Sudha’s record to create a new national record at the Rio Olympics .
2016 May: Sudha Singh (9:26.55) set a new national mark in Shanghai.
2016 April: Lalita Babar clocked 9:27.09 at Delhi in the Federation Cup in, which was the then national mark.
Triple jump
Men
National record: 17.30m: Renjith Maheswary (at the fourth Indian GP, Bengaluru, 2016). It was Renjith's third time above the 17m mark and the first after his bronze medal winning leap of 17.07m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Previous national record Arpinder Singh: 17.17m in 2014.
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
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
|
Rank |
Nation |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
Bahrain (BHR) |
11 |
7 |
4 |
22 |
|
2 |
China (CHN) |
9 |
13 |
7 |
29 |
|
3 |
Japan (JPN) |
5 |
4 |
9 |
18 |
|
4 |
India (IND) |
3 |
7 |
7 |
17 |
|
17 |
Sri Lanka (SRI) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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
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.
2021
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.
