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Bhopal:
Kerala retained overall championship title while Punjab remained
overall runners-up in the Indian National Inter-State Senior
Athletics Championships which concluded at Patiala on Sunday.
Pankaj Dimri of Uttarakhand for his performance in men's 800m
(1:46.86) and Mandeep Kaur of Punjab for her mark of 52.13 in women
400m were adjudged the best athletes of the four-day national
championships.
Kerala athletes with eight golds, seven silvers and three bronzes
had total 18 medals in their kitty to claim the top spot. Punjab on
the other hand with seven golds, four silvers and five bronze medals
pocketed in all 16 medals to be in the second place. Haryana
garnering 15 medals, a less than Punjab, had to be content with the
third spot overall. They had seven golds, three silvers and five
bronze medals to their credit.
However, Haryana in the men’s section overshadowed athletes from all
the participating 15 Indian states to finish winners with total 11
medals (G- 6, S-3, B-2) in its name. Punjab pocketed total 9 medals
(G-3, S-2, B-4) to remain runners-up. Kerala came third with total 7
medals (G-2, S-4, B-1).
Kerala women athletes putting their best foot forward came up with
fine display to lay their hands on total 11 medals (G-6, S-3, B-2)
in the championship. The women in the process wiped out the deficit
of their men’s poor performance so much so that the state team
finished first overall in the championship.
Punjab maintaining their tempo finished runners-up in the women
category also as they did it in the overall title and the men’s
section. Punjab women won total seven medals (G-4, S-2, B-1). Andhra
Pradesh eves won in all five medals (G-3, S-1, B-1) to finish third.
Meanwhile, on the final day Kerala’s O.P. Jaisha, an Asian Indoor
champion over 1,500m and bronze medalist in 5,000m at the Doha Asiad,
created a new national mark 10:03.05 in steeplechase.
Jaisha ran shoulder to shoulder with Sudha Singh, the reigning
national record holder, till the last lap and made her move on the
bell and increased her tempo when she started approaching the final
straight to become an eventual victor to cap it with a new national
mark 10:03.05. Sudha was a distant second in 10:14.68.
Jauna Murmu (Orissa), who recently switched over from 400m flat to
hurdles, was in a fine form and improved the meet mark with a time
of 57.46 secs. However it was a shade away from her personal best
and Asian All-Star Meet winning mark of 57.39 secs.
Asian champion Om Prakash Singh of Haryana tossed the iron ball to a
distance of 19.99m to prove his mettle in the men’s Shot Put.
Haryana’s Sunil Kumar Singh and Andhra Pradesh sprinter Satti Geetha
completed a double. Geetha, a versatile 400m runner in the past and
a regular member of national relay quartet in various global
competitions, concentrated in 200m at recent times having won silver
medals in the Federation Cup at Ranchi and Open Nationals at Kochi
this May. After a surprise win over H.M. Jyothi of Karnataka in 100m
on the opening day, Geetha comfortably got the top spot in 200m on
Sunday evening clocking a modest 24.08 secs.
The Haryana lad Sunil Kumar Singh had similar victories in 5000m on
the opening day before completing the double this morning with a
victory over 10000m with a time of 29:55.22.
(pervezbari@eth.net)
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Three
National Meet Records created, Railways remain perched on top
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