Ashwini on song with sparkling display

Bharat Inder sets new decathlon record

The women’s 400M final at the 51st Inter-State Athletics Championships was Ashwini’s first race of the year, having spent the best part of the last six months recovering from a wrist injury sustained in training. The rustiness was evident but that didn’t prevent her from cruising to the gold medal, lighting up the second day of the event which also witnessed a national record in decathlon by Bharat Inder Singh of Haryana.

Ashwini won in 52.82 seconds, the best by an Indian this season and also her personal best, igniting fresh hopes for the country in terms of a gold medal at the Asian Championships next month. The 23-year-old was always in control of the race and her dash pulled rivals Mandeep Kaur of Punjab and Jauna Murmu of Orissa under 54 seconds for the first time this season.

“Happy to be back, it’s nice to win at home,” said Ashwini, who had run a 53.57 in the semifinals on Saturday to show she was back in the hunt. In the final, Ashwini waited to pounce even as Murmu and Mandeep set the pace early.

The Karnataka runner made rapid ground nearing the 200M mark and by the time she came into the straight, she was in the lead, with Mandeep in hot pursuit. But there was no catching Ashwini, even though she tightened up in the final twenty metres. Mandeep claimed silver in 53.21 while Murmu’s bronze came in 53.81.

Bharat Inder, meanwhile, tallied 7658 points to erase Jora Singh’s five-year-old mark of 7502 points in decathlon.

Poonia second

Commonwealth Games champion Krishna Poonia got an all-clear in her ‘medical check-up’ as she settled for silver behind Harwant Kaur in women’s discus. Krishna let fly only three throws -- with a best of 55.45 -- before withdrawing, and said she was fully satisfied with her recovery.

“With ten days of training if I could do this, I can really go far,” said Krishna while confirming that she will take part in the Asian Championships. Harwant, meanwhile, struck gold with a throw of 58.78 metres.

Rajasthan’s Ghamanda Ram continued his comeback, winning the 1500M after a gap of six years. Ghamanda, who won three silver medals in the Asian Grand Prix series in the 800M, had last won the 1500 gold at the Inter-State Meet at the same venue in 2005.
Kerala’s Shameer Mon and PK Priya emerged the fastest athletes, winning the 100M in 10.58 and 11.97 seconds respectively while Sahana Kumari added another gold to Karnataka’s kitty, taking the high jump with a 1.81M clearance.

Results:
Men: 100M: Shameer Mon (Kerala) 10.58 seconds, 1; Krishna Kumar Rane (Maharashtra) 10.61, 2; Ritesh Anand (Jharkhand) 10.71, 3.
400M: SK Mortaza (Bengal) 47.05 seconds, 1; Davinder Singh (Punjab) 47.32, 2; J Premanand (Madhya Pradesh) 47.80, 3.
1500M: Ghamanda Ram (Rajasthan) 3:48.12, 1; Pranjal Gogoi (Maharashtra) 3:48.43, 2; Sandeep (Haryana) 3:48.52, 3.
3000M steeplechase: Ramachandran (Tamil Nadu) 8:42.58 (NMR. Old: 8:43.89, Elam Singh) 1; Th Sanjit Luwang (Manipur) 8:44.26, 2; Jaiveer (Haryana) 8:45.16, 3.
Pole vault: Bimin KP (Kerala) 4.95 metres, 1; N Vadivel (Tamil Nadu) 4.90, 2; Bineesh Jacob (Kerala) 4.70, 3.
Triple jump: Arpinder Singh (Punjab) 16.32 metres, 1; Renjith Maheswary (Tamil Nadu) 15.96, 2; Bipin Dev (Maharashtra) 15.86, 3.
20000M walk: Maniram Patel (Madhya Pradesh) 1:29:35.00, 1; Irfan KT (Kerala) 1:30:34.00, 2; Manjit Singh (Punjab) 1:31:34.00, 3.
Decathlon: Bharat Inder Singh (Haryana) 7658 points (National record. Old: 7502, Jora Singh, 2006) 1; Rahul Kumar (Rajasthan) 6599, 2; Chandrahas Kushwaha (Uttar Pradesh) 6537, 3.
Women: 100M: Priya P K (Kerala) 11.97 seconds, 1; Asha Roy (Bengal) 12.20, 2; N Sudha (Andhra Pradesh) 12.20, 3.
400M: Ashwini AC (Karnataka) 52.82 seconds, 1; Mandeep Kaur (Punjab) 53.21, 2; Jauna Murmu (Orissa) 53.81, 3.
1500M: OP Jaisha (Punjab) 4:21.32, 1; Jhuma Khatun (Jharkhand) 4:23.89, 2; Bindu SR (Kerala) 4:25.56, 3.
High jump: Sahana Kumari (Karnataka) 1.81 metres, 1; Mallika Mondal (Bengal) 1.76, 2; Siji NK (Kerala) 1.73, 3.
Discus throw: Harwant Kaur (Punjab) 58.78 metres, 1; Krishna Poonia (Rajasthan) 55.45, 2; Praveen Kumari (Rajasthan) 49.21, 3.
20000M walk: Deepmala Devi (Jharkhand) 1:47:19.29, 1; Gourav Kumari (Madhya Pradesh) 1:52:26.09, 2; Ranjana Gupta (Madhya Pradesh) 1:52:49.31, 3.