Lucknow, August 30: Steeplechaser Avinash Sable (Maharashtra) and long jumper M Sreeshankar (Kerala) warmed up for the IAAF World Athletics Championships with good performances on the closing day of the 59th National Inter-State Athletics Championships at the PAC Stadium here on Friday.
The 24-year-old Avinash Sable, placed 25th on the IAAF World Rankings, ran at a comfortable pace and yet claimed the meet record with ease, clocking 8:33.19. He could have challenged his own National record (8:28.94) but the humidity was of little help, despite his event being scheduled as the last on the track.
Sreesankar hit sand at 7.83m on his second jump and raised hopes that he would script an 8-metre jump here. The 20-year-old wound himself up for a massive effort when he returned to the runway, showcasing raw energy and speed as he reached the take-off board and landed near that desired mark, but he had disappointingly over-stepped by a little bit to cause the red flag to be raised.
On a day when India’s premier 4x400m men’s team endured disappointment, owing to Alex A Antony stepping out with a muscle pull 200m into the third leg, Tamil Nadu’s women’s sprint quartet held its own by setting the other meet record. Dhana Lakshmi, R Nithya Ramraj, V Revathi and Archana Suseendran combined to finish the 4x100m relay in 45.69 seconds, improving on the 45.96 set by the Kerala team in 1997.
Dutee Chand (Odisha) tried gamely but could not meet the IAAF World Championships qualifying standard in the women’s 100m. She blazed her way to win in 11.38 seconds, 0.14 seconds slower than the target time. Vidya Sagar (Karnataka) emerged the fastest male athlete of the championships edging out Haryana youngster Nuzrat Ali by seven-hundredths of a second.
The gangling Parul Chaudhary outsprinted Sudha Singh on the final lap of the women’s 3000m steeplechase that often saw the lead being exchanged. Her victory helped her completed a double, having won gold in the 5000m on the opening day. Lili Das had done something similar, settling in PU Chitra’s slipstream but sprinting ahead over the final 50m of the women’s 1500m.
The results (all finals):
Men’s
100m: 1. Vidya Sagar (Karnataka) 10.59 seconds; 2. Nuzrat Ali (Haryana) 10.66; 3. Safikul Mondal (West Bengal) 10.69.
1500m: 1. Ajay Kumar Saroj (Uttar Pradesh) 3:44.66; 2. Ajeet Kumar (Gujarat) 3:45.07; 3. Rahul (Delhi) 3:45.47.
110m Hurdles: 1. Siddhanth Thingalaya (AFI) 13.99 seconds; 2. Maymon Paulose (Kerala) 14.00; 3. Paras Patil (Maharashtra) 14.36.
3000m Steeplechase: 1. Avinash Sable (Maharashtra) 8:33.19 (New meet record. Old: 8:42.29, Naveen Kumar, 2014); 2. Durga Budha (Uttar Pradesh) 8:57.27; 3. Rakesh Swami (Rajasthan) 9:07.37.
Hammer Throw: 1. Bajinder Singh (Punjab) 63.36m; 2. Mohammed Aftab Alam (Uttar Pradesh) 63.23; 3. Meraj Ali (Uttar Pradesh) 60.71.
Javelin Throw: 1. Rohit Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 78.98m; 2. P Manu (Karnataka) 76.24; 3. Rajender (Haryana) 76.04.
Long Jump: 1. M Sreeshankar (Kerala) 7.83m; 2. Samit Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 7.40; 3. Rishabh Rishishwar (Uttar Pradesh) 7.38.
4x100m relay: 1. Karnataka (Suhas Gowda, Vidya Sagar, Rohith and Rohan Kumar) 41.43 seconds; 2. Maharashtra 41.48; 3. West Bengal 42.00.
4x400m relay: 1. Sri Lanka (DM Bogoda, AE Lakmal, A Rathnasena and MGDDM Silva) 3:11.40; 2. Kerala 3:16.76; 3. Delhi 3:17.09.
Women’s
100m: 1. Dutee Chand (Odisha) 11.38 seconds; 2. Archana Suseendran (Tamil Nadu) 11.50; 3. Himashree Roy (West Bengal) 11.63.
1500m: 1. Lili Das (West Bengal) 4:21.59; 2. PU Chitra (Kerala) 4:22.03; 3. WKL ArachchiNimali (Sri Lanka) 4:25.
100m Hurdles: 1. Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh) 13.91 seconds; 2. C Kanimozhi (Tamil Nadu) 13.94; 3. Ritwika Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 13.98.
3000m Steeplechase: 1. Parul Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) 10:04.19; 2. Sudha Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 10:04.55; 3. PritiLamba (Haryana) 10:13.42.
Shot put: 1. AbhaKhatua (West Bengal) 15.36m; 2. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (Punjab) 15.14; 3. Pinki Rawat (Uttar Pradesh) 13.99.
Heptathlon: 1. SowmiyaMurugan (Andhra Pradesh) 5321 points (100mH: 14.35; HJ: 1.64m; SP: 12.03m; 200m: 25.37; LJ: 5.71m; JT: 36.87m; 800m: 2:27.51); 2. Mareena George (Kerala) 5238; 3. LaimwnNazary (Assam) 4540.
4x100m relay: 1. Tamil Nadu (Dhana Lakshmi, R Nithya Ramraj, V Revathi and Archana Suseendran) 45.69 seconds (New Meet record. Old: 45.96, Kerala, 1997); 2. Karnataka 46.07; 3. Kerala 47.17.
4x400m relay: 1. Karnataka (AprithaManjunatha, Nithyashree Ananda, Likitha and GK Vijayakumari) 3:39.41; 2. Kerala 3:45.64; 3. Delhi 3:46.71.
