AFI Media
Tirupati, November 25: Sharon Maria (Nilgiris) and Kunal Kaushik (Dadri) set new meet records in the girls under-16 200m and boys under-16 Shot Put on the concluding day of the 17th MILO National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet 2019, the largest talent search programme in a single discipline, at the Tarakarama Stadium in Sri Venkateswara University campus here on Monday.
The 15-year-old Sharon Maria was third behind Soumita Paul (Chandranagore) and Simran Kaur (Chandigarh) at the top on the bend but she was able to sustain her pace till the finish. The trio had competed in the 200m final of the National Junior Athletics Championships in Guntur recently but the Nilgiris sprinter’s smart race tactics helped her improve a two-year-old mark.
Shot putters Kunal Kaushik, Jaidev Dekka (North West Delhi) and Maurya Ganapathi (Mysuru) each went past the existing meet mark of 16.91m set by Mankirat Singh (Ropar) in Haridwar in 2014 as the trio logged throws past the 17m mark. However, Kunal Kaushik was a clear winner with a best effort of 17.91m today, improving on the 16.76m that fetched him bronze in Guntur.
As expected, the girls under-16 100m hurdles final was tightly contested. Tirupur’s Vysali Ganesan, who finished third in Guntur, held her own against National champion Namayi Ruchita (Bengaluru Urban). Pratiksha Yamuna (Ramanathapuram) scraped hard to make it to the podium ahead of National silver medallist Nayana Jose (Kollam).
Kolhapur’s Sarthak Sadashiv Shelar won the boys under-16 100m hurdles winner, beating P Mukilan (Thiruvannamalai) comfortably. The sports school student dipped in home in 13.94 seconds, showing the fastest semifinalists , Mukilan and Shivam Singh (Sitapur) a clean pair of heels. It was easily the fastest time of the meet.
The girls under-14 Long Jump final was keenly fought as well. With a best jump of 4.98m on her fifth effort, Niveathitha Gnanaskand (Coimbatore) won by a mere centimeter from Faridabad’s Pariksha who held the lead after the opening jimp. Aishi Biswas (North 24 Parganas) came up with a 4.87m effort on her fourth jump to ensure that it was not a two-pronged battle.
Abhay Singh Kanwar (Bhopal) and Thane’s Isha Nishikant Ramteke emerged the fastest under-14 boy and girl respectively, clocking 11.36 seconds and 12.69 seconds. The boys under-16 100m result was revised as Prince Chaudhary (Etah) and Jitin Chaudhary (Bhind) were disqualified for being found over-age by medical tests.
Amirishetti Tharun (Karimnagar), who qualified only as the eighth fastest semifinalist, emerged the winner while Vasu Spolia (Reasi) and Vibhaskar Kumar (North West Delhi) claimed the silver and bronze medals.
Athletics Federation of India High Performance Director Volker Herrmann, who put the track semifinalists and field finalists through a battery of tests, said he was excited by the talent that was on show in the three-day meet. “We have been able to discover some youngsters who, with the right training, can go on to do well for India,” he said.
The results (finals):
Boys under-16
200m: 1. Kinnera Dileep (Jagtiyal) 23.32 seconds; 2. Karthick Balaji Shanmugha Sundaram (Coimbatore) 23.51; 3. Rishi Kumar Mishra (Barabanki) 23.59.
1000m: 1. Shyam Milan Bind (Varanasi) 2: 38.69; 2. Walter Kandulna (Nilgris) 2:39.39; 3. Surendra Kumar (Jamui) 2:39.60.
100m Hurdles: 1. Sarthak Sadashiv Shelar (Kolhapur) 13.94 seconds; 2. P Mukilan (Thiruvannamalai) 14.16; 3. Mohammed Mustava (Thrissur) 14.24.
Long Jump: 1. R Suriya (Thiruvallur) 6.79m; 2. Chandrashehar (Etah) and Sandeep Singh (Bhopal) 6.52.
Shot Put: 1. Kunal Kaushik (Dadri) 17.91m (New Meet Record. Old: 16.91m, Mankirat Singh, Ropar, Haridwar, 2014); 2. Jaidev Dikka (North West Delhi) 17.49; 3. Maurya Ganapathi (Mysuru) 17.21.
Javelin Throw: 1. Gaurav Kumar (Bhagpat 59.37m; 2. TV Lavanyakumar (West Godavari) 56.83; 3. Raj Kumar Gupta (Jamui) 56.77.
Girls under-16
200m: 1. Sharon Maria (Nilgiris) 25.77 seconds (New Meet Record. Old: 26.28, Madhumita Deb, Tripura West, Visakhapatnam, 2017): 2. Soumita Paul (Chandernagore) 26.12; 3. Simran Kaur (Chandigarh South) 26.20.
1000m: 1. Moumita Roy (North 24 Parganas) 3:07.10; 2. Shraddha Bharat Hake (Solapur) 3:07.22; 3. Muskan Sinha (Bhagalpur) 3:07.47.
100m Hurdles: 1. Vysali Ganesan (Tirupur) 14.90 seconds; 2. Namayi Ruchita (Bengaluru Urban) 14.93; 3. Pratiksha Yamuna (Ramanathapuram) 14.98.
Javelin Throw: 1. Sukhmanjeet Kaur (SAS Nagar) 31.99m; 2. Sheetal (Jhajjar) 31.44; 3. Bithika Dutta (Siliguri) 29.93.
Boys under-14
100m: 1. Abhay Singh Kanwar (Bhopal) 11.36 seconds; 2. Pvan Kumar Pangi (Visakhapatnam) 11.57; 3. Gowtham Alluri (Khammam) 11.62.
600m: 1. Vinod Kumar Banoth (Jayashankar Bhupalapally) 1:27.52; 2. Rahil Oraon (Bokaro) 1:28.86; 3. Thudum Praveen (Warangal) 1:29.20.
Long Jump: 1. Samir Oraon (Ranchi) 6.41m; 2. Rakesh Kumar Yadav (Bhagalpur) 6.25; 3. Aarya Kandakumar (Mumbai City) 6.02.
High Jump: 1. Kothuri Pranay (Mancherial) 1.76m; 2. Ram Singh (Sirsa) 1.71; 3. Ritesh Kumar (Sasaram) 1.61.
Girls under-14:
100m: 1. Isha Nishikant Ramteke (Thane) 12.69 seconds; 2. Siya Abhijit Sawant (Mumbai Suburb) 12.84; 3. Saanika Subhash Bangera (Udupi) 12.96.
600m: 1. Priyanka Madivalappa Olekar (Dharwad) 1:40.23; 2. Neevethikaa MG (Karur) 1:41.93; 3. Tanvi Malik (Meerut) 1:42.94.
High Jump: 1. Mohur Mukherjee (North 2 Parganas) 1.51m; 2. Gowthami (Dakshina Kannada) 1.49; 3. Najla Zahir Hussain (Nilgiris) 1.46.
Long Jump: 1. Niveathitha Gnanaskand (Coimbatore) 4.98m; 2. Pariksha (Faridabad) 4.97; 3. Aishi Biswas (North 24 Parganas) 4.87.
