Classy Tejaswin soars to national high jump mark

Tejaswin Shankar underlined his class with a national record in high jump to confirm his spot in the Commonwealth Games squad on the third day of the Federation Cup athletics championships here on Wednesday.

Tejaswin, who had cleared 2.28 metres indoors in a competition in the United States last week, repeated the effort outdoors to break his own record of 2.26 metres set in 2016.

The mark was well clear of the qualification guideline of 2.25 metres set by the Athletics Federation of India and also showed the 19-year-old has struck a note of consistency after moving to the US on a scholarship.

The Delhi youngster had competition from Haryana's Siddharth Yadav, who also met the CWG guideline by clearing 2.25 metres. But he failed three times at 2.28, settling for the silver.

Tejaswin then raised the bar to 2.31 metres but missed out narrowly.

"Today, I was a bit excited while going for the 2.31. It was a world-class height and I could have cleared it in my first of the three attempts. I missed it narrowly. But it is alright. I hope I will cross this height soon," said Tejaswin.

Tamil Nadu's L Suriya also met the CWG guideline, powering home in the 10000M in 32:23.96. The norm was 32:30:00 seconds.

Kerala's Sheena N V won the triple jump with an effort 13.31 metres while V S Surekha hit form in the pole vault pit with a clearance of 3.90 to win the gold. Both, however, missed the CWG standard.

Karnataka's Khyati Vakharia won the silver in the pole vault, with a clearance of 3.80 metres. Annu Rani too had disappointment in store in women's javelin. She could manage only 57.37 metres, falling well short of the standard of 62.50 metres.

Results:Men: 10000M:  G Lakshmanan (Tamil Nadu), 29:31.72, 1; Gavit Murli (Gujarat) 29:33.85, 2; Abhishek Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 29:34.47, 3. High jump: Tejaswin Shankar (Delhi) 2.28 metres (National record. Old: 2.26, Tejaswin, Coimbatore, 2016), 1; Siddharth Yadav (Haryana) 2.25, 2; Srineesh C (Kerala) 2.14, 3.

Discus throw: Dharamraj Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 55.35 metres, 1;  Kirpal Singh (Punjab) 54.51, 2; Mithravarun S (TN) 54.28, 3. Women: 10000M:  L Suriya (Tamil Nadu) 32:23.96,, 1; Sanjeevini Jadhav (Maharashtra) 33:36.49, 2; Swati Gadhave (Maharashtra) 33:47.02, 3. Triple jump: Sheena N V (Kerala) 13.31 metres, 1; Renu (Haryana) 13.22, 2; M A Siva Anbarasi (Tamil Nadu) 12.95, 3. Pole vault: V S Surekha (Tamil Nadu) 3.90 metres, 1; Khyati Vakharia (Karnataka) 3.80, 2; Krishna Rachan (Kerala) 3.70, 3.

Javelin throw: Annu Rani (Uttar Pradesh) 57.37 metres, 1; Pushpa Jakhar (Haryana) 53.70, 2; Kumari Sharmila (Rajasthan) 53.53, 3.