The 17-year-old Rupal from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh scripted a stunning maiden victory over the fancied Priya H Mohan (Karnataka) in the women’s 400m final in the 20th National Federation Cup U20 Junior Athletics Championships here today. Her win headlined a day on which 14 athletes secured World U20 Championships qualification marks.
Rupal dipped home inside 53 seconds for the first time in her career, claiming a victory over Priya H Mohan on Friday by one-hundredth of a second. Her time of 52.48 is the third fastest by an Indian woman in a National-level meet this year behind Aishwarya Mishra (51.18 in April) and Priya H Mohan (52.37 in March).
Rupal caught the eye when she clocked 53.73 seconds in winning the U18 final in the National 400m Championships in New Delhi on October 12 last. In three head-to-head 400m races, she had finished second best to Priya H Mohan. She will cherish her win on Friday and while both qualified for the World U20 in Cali, Rupal will hope that it can lead to bigger things.
The array of qualification for the World Athletics U20 Championships was sparked by the day’s opening event, the men’s 10000m where all three podium finishers Rohit Kumar Yadav (Gujarat), Babubhai Bariod (Gujarat) and Sachin Singh Bohra (Uttarakhand) each met the qualifying mark.
The others who achieved qualifying standards on Friday included Aman Khokhar (Men’s 100m), Madhavendra Shekhawat, M Krishik and A Graceson Jeeva (Men’s 110m hurdles), Chandrashekar (Men’s Long Jump), Sanyam and Sawan (Men’s Shot Put), Vivek (Men’s Javelin Throw) and Agasara Nandini (Women’s 100m Hurdles).
The results:
Men
100m: 1. Aman Khokhar (Uttar Pradesh) 10.56 seconds; 2. R Sai Siddharth (Tamil Nadu) 10.81; 3. Sadanand Kumar (Jharkhand) 10.89.
400m: 1. H Rihan (Karnataka) 48.31 seconds; 2. Deepak Rohilla (Haryana) 48.39; 3. A Suraj (Tamil Nadu) 48.42.
10000m: 1. Rohit Kumar Yadav (Gujarat) 43:06.16; 2. Babubhai Bariod (Gujarat) 43:07.96; 3. Sachin Singh Bohra (Uttarakhand) 43:43.28.
110m Hurdles: 1. Krishik M (Karnataka) 14.02 seconds; 2. A Graceson Jeeva (Odisha) 14.12; 3. Rathish Pandidurai (Tamil Nadu) 14.25.
Long Jump: 1. Chandrashekhar (Uttar Pradesh) 7.65m; 2. Sanmath Sakthivel (Tamil Nadu) 7.52; 3. S Waran (Tamil Nadu) 7.36.
Javelin Throw: 1. Vivek (Madhya Pradesh) 69.99m; 2. Sujit (Haryana) 66.55; 3. Hemant Choudhary (Rajasthan) 62.22.
Shot Put: 1. Sanyam (Haryana) 19.42m; 2. Sawan (Haryana) 18.54; 3. Kunal Kaushik (Haryana) 17.96.
Decathlon: 1. Sunil Kumar (Haryana) 6788 points (100m: 11.61; LJ: 6.94; SP: 11.37; HJ: 1.93; 400m: 50.12; 110mH: 15.23; DT: 34.89; PV: 4.00; JT: 43.04; 1500: 4: even43.84); 2. Yogesh (Madhya Pradesh) 6415; 3. AS Logeshkumaar (Tamil Nadu) 6320.
Women
100m: 1. Priyanka Sikarwar (Uttar Pradesh) 11.88 seconds; 2. Jeevanji Deepthi (Telangana) 12.17; 3. Tamanna (Haryana) 12.18.
400m: 1. Rupal (Uttar Pradesh) 52.48 seconds; 2. Priya H Mohan (Karnataka) 52.49; 3. Kunja Rajitha (Andhra Pradesh) 56.32.
100m Hurdles: 1. Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 13.97 seconds; 2. Unnathi Aiyappa Bollanda (Karnataka) 14.30; 3. Pranjali Patil (Maharashtra) 14.97.
Pole Vault: 1. Vanshika Ghanghas (Haryana) 3.40m; 2. Rajni (Haryana) 3.40; 3. Nitika Akare (Madhya Pradesh) 3.30.
High Jump: 1. Khyati Mathur (Uttar Pradesh) 1.73m; 2. Pavana Nagaraj (Karnataka) 1.73; 2. B Sahana (Tamil Nadu) 1.64.
Long Jump: 1. Shaili Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 6.11m; 2. Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 5.92; 3. Susmita (Rajasthan) 5.79.
Discus Throw: 1. Kiran (Rajasthan) 46.66m; 2. Sanya Yadav (Haryana) 44.88; Neetu Kumari (Rajasthan) 44.48.
