Karnataka’s B Aishwarya stole the thunder for the second day running, creating a National Record when winning the women’s Triple Jump gold with a 14.14m effort in the SNJ 61st National Inter-State Athletics Championships in the Nehru Stadium here on Monday. She had made headlines with a 6.73m effort in the Long Jump qualifying on Sunday.
Having gone close to her maiden 14m effort in March this year, Aishwarya broke Mayooka Johny’s National Record, pegged at 14.11m on July 9, 2011. She opened with a 13.84m try to gain Commonwealth Games qualification and followed it up with 13.16m on her second try. It was on her third attempt that she hopped, stepped and jumped past the National mark.
K M Chanda (Delhi) came up with a personal best time of 2:01.67 to win a start-to-finish effort in the women’s 800m final, but she was agonizingly short of the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 2:00.83. Punjab’s Twinkle Chaudhary stayed on Chanda’s heels to clock a personal best time herself in finishing second.
Haryana’s Krishan Kumar found his way through the inside to breeze from seventh place at the bell to win the 800m gold in 1:48.79. He made the most of the gaps that other runners left in the quest to overtake those in front from the outside. Ankesh Chaudhary (Himachal Pradesh) made the most of Mohammed Afsal’s dwindling energy on the home stretch to take silver.
In the men’s Discus Throw, Punjab picked up a 1-2 through Kirpal Singh and Gagandeep Singh, with the former crossing 60m mark in his second of three National-level competitions this year. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon ensured that Punjab would won the women’s Discus Throw gold as well with 55.67m.
The India B team, comprising Mohammed Ajmal, Rupal Chaudhary, Rajesh Ramesh and Dandi Jyothika Sri, won the 4x400m Mixed Relay after India A’s anchor Amoj Jacob hobbled off the track just after gaining the lead for his team with about 110m left in the race. The other members of the India A team were Noah Nirmal Tom, Kiran Pahal and Aishwarya Mishra.
The results (finals):
Men
800m: 1. Krishan Kumar (Haryana) 1:48.79; 2. Ankesh Chaudhary (Himachal Pradesh) 1:49.74; 3. Mohammed Afsal (Kerala) 1:49.82.
Discus Throw: 1. Kirpal Singh (Punjab) 60.31m; 2. Gagandeep Singh (Punjab) 56.29; 3. Vazeer (Haryana) 55.99.
Women
800m: 1. Chanda (Delhi) 2:01.67; 2. Twinkle (Punjab) 2:02.98; 3. Shalu Chaudhary (Delhi) 2:07.49.
High Jump: 1. Gracena G Merly (Tamil Nadu) 1.82m; 2. Rubina Yadav (Haryana) 1.78; 3. Angel P Devasia (Tamil Nadu) 1.76.
Triple Jump: 1. B Aishwarya (Karnataka) 14.14m (New National & Meet Record. Old NR: 14.11, Mayookha Johny, 2011. Old MR: 13.72, Mayookha Johny, 2014); 2. Renu (Haryana) 13.43; 3. Karthika Gothandapani (Andhra Pradesh) 13.25.
Discus Throw: 1. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (Punjab) 55.67m; 2. Nidhi Rani (Haryana) 50.86; 3. Karyuna Muthuramalingam (Tamil Nadu) 49.24.
Heptathlon: 1. Sowmiya Murugan (Andhra Pradesh) 5570 points (100mH: 14.24; HJ: 1.62; SP: 12.72; 200m: 25.33; LJ: 5.99; JT: 40.57; 800m: 2:23.51; 2. Mareena George (Kerala) 5555; 3. Sonu Kumari (Haryana) 5091.
Mixed
4x400m Relay: 1. India B (Mohammed Ajmal, Rupal Chaudhary, Rajesh Ramesh and Dandi Jyothika Sri) 3:18.84; 2. Karnataka 3:22.45; 3. Tamil Nadu 3:24.51.
