<p>Sudha, who had set a national record while winning gold at Guangzhou last year, was not in the same form and had to settle for the second spot behind Japan’s Minori Hayakari in the women’s 3000M steeplechase.<br /><br />The 38-year-old Hayakari clocked 9:52.42, finishing well ahead of Sudha, who timed 10:08.52. The Indian had also won the silver in the last edition of the Asian meet at Guangzhou in 2009.<br /><br />Tintu, the Asiad bronze medallist in the 800M, repeated that effort as the top three at Guangzhou battled hard in the final here as well. There was a change in the order though, with Kazakhstan’s Margarita Matsko, the gold winner last year, being upstaged by Truong Thanh Hang of Vietnam.<br /><br />Truong timed 2:01.41 to Matsko’s 2:02.46 while Tintu was just behind in 2:02.55, a creditable time in only her second competitive race of the season. The Indian had led at the halfway stage which was covered in one minute -- a slow lap that had an effect on the final timing as well.<br /><br />Ghamanda, who has made a strong comeback this year, produced the third fastest time by an Indian to win the men’s 800M bronze behind Kuwait’s Mohd Alazemi and Iran’s Sajad Moradi, the favourite. Ghamanda’s 1:46.46 is only behind Sriram Singh’s 1976 time of 1:45.73 and Pankaj Dimri’s 2010 effort of 1:46.26 in the Indian list. <br /><br />Despite that, the ONGC man narrowly missed out on an Olympic qualification, with the ‘B’ standard set at 1:46.30. <br /><br />It was India’s first medal in the men’s 800 metres in 22 years.<br />India had disappointments in store in other events on the day. The women’s 4x400 team, a scratch combination thanks to the dope tests that ruled out all the top runners, had hoped to win at least a bronze from a depleted field. <br /><br />But the foursome of K Mrudula, Jhuma Khatun, OP Jaisha and Tintu Luka finished fourth and last, even behind Iraq, clocking a pathetic 2:44.17. The men’s longer relay squad was disqualified for an exchange zone violation while the 4x100 team ended eighth.<br />India ended the championships with one gold, two silver and eight bronze medals, a realistic reflection of their current form and capabilities, in contrast to the five-gold feat at the Asian Games. In the last Asian meet in 2009, India had won one gold, four silver and seven bronze.<br /><br />Hosts Japan swept all the four relays on the final day to displace China from the top position on the medals table. Japan had a tally of 11 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze while China ended with 10-12-5. Liu Xiang’s championship record of 13.22 seconds to win the 110M hurdles for the fourth time was the other highlight of the final day.<br /><br />Results:<br /><br />Men: 200M: Femi Seun Ogunade (Qatar) 20.41 seconds, 1; Hitoshi Saito (Japan) 20.75, 2; OJB Alsalfa (UAE) 20.97, 3.<br />800M: Mohd Alazemi (Kuwait) 1:46.14, 1; Sajad Moradi (Iran) 1:46.35, 2; Ghamanda Ram (India) 1:46.46, 3. Sajeesh Joseph (India) 1:48.56, 5.<br />110M hurdles: Liu Xiang (China) 13.22 seconds, 1; Shi Dongpeng (China) 13.56, 2; Park Taekyong (South Korea) 13.66, 3.<br />Long jump: Su Xiongfeng (China) 8.19 metres, 1; Na Ayu Sukhasvasti (Thailand) 8.05, 2; Rikiya Saruyama (Japan) 8.05, 3.<br />Javelin throw: Yukifumi Murakami (Japan) 83.27, 1; Park Jaemyoung (South Korea) 80.19, 2; Ivan Zaitcev (Uzbekistan) 79.22, 3.<br />4x100M relay: Japan 39.18 seconds, 1; Hong Kong 39.26, 2; Chinese Taipei 39.30, 3. India (Ritesh Anand, KK Rane, Shameer Mon, Rahmatollah Molla) 40.38, 8.<br />4x400M relay: Japan 3:04.72, 1; Saudi Arabia 3:08.03; Iran 3:08.58, 3.<br /><br />Women: 200M: Chisato Fukushima (Japan) 23.49 seconds, 1; Gretta Taslakian (Lebanon) 24.01, 2; Saori Imai (Japan) 24.06, 3.<br />800M: Truong Thanh Hang (Vietnam) 2:01.41, 1; Margarita Matsko (Kazakhstan) 2:02.46, 2; Tintu Luka (India) 2:02.55, 3.<br />3000M steeplechase: Minori Hayakari (Japan) 9:52.42, 1; Sudha Singh (India) 10:08.52, 2; Nguyen Thu Phong (Vietnam) 10:14.94, 3. Priyanka Singh Patel (India) 10:56.88, 6.<br />100M hurdles: Sun Yawei (China) 13.04 seconds, 1; Jung Hyelim (South Korea) 13.11, 2; Natalya Ivoninskaya (Kazakhstan) 13.15, 3.<br />High jump: Zheng Xingjian (China) 1.92 metres, 1; Svetlana Radzivil (Uzbekistan) 1.92, 2; Maria Aitova (Kazakhstan) 1.89, 3.<br />Shot put: Meng Qianqian (China) 18.31 metres, 1; Liu Xiangrong (China) 18.30, 2; Rajabi Leyla (Iran) 16.60, 3.<br />4x100M relay: Japan 44.05 seconds, 1; China 44.23, 2; Thailand 44.62, 3.<br />4x400M relay: Japan 3:35.00, 1; Kazakhstan 3:36.61, 2; Iraq 3:41.91, 3. India (Mridula, Jhuma, Jaisha, Tintu) 3:44.17, 4.</p>
<p>Sudha, who had set a national record while winning gold at Guangzhou last year, was not in the same form and had to settle for the second spot behind Japan’s Minori Hayakari in the women’s 3000M steeplechase.<br /><br />The 38-year-old Hayakari clocked 9:52.42, finishing well ahead of Sudha, who timed 10:08.52. The Indian had also won the silver in the last edition of the Asian meet at Guangzhou in 2009.<br /><br />Tintu, the Asiad bronze medallist in the 800M, repeated that effort as the top three at Guangzhou battled hard in the final here as well. There was a change in the order though, with Kazakhstan’s Margarita Matsko, the gold winner last year, being upstaged by Truong Thanh Hang of Vietnam.<br /><br />Truong timed 2:01.41 to Matsko’s 2:02.46 while Tintu was just behind in 2:02.55, a creditable time in only her second competitive race of the season. The Indian had led at the halfway stage which was covered in one minute -- a slow lap that had an effect on the final timing as well.<br /><br />Ghamanda, who has made a strong comeback this year, produced the third fastest time by an Indian to win the men’s 800M bronze behind Kuwait’s Mohd Alazemi and Iran’s Sajad Moradi, the favourite. Ghamanda’s 1:46.46 is only behind Sriram Singh’s 1976 time of 1:45.73 and Pankaj Dimri’s 2010 effort of 1:46.26 in the Indian list. <br /><br />Despite that, the ONGC man narrowly missed out on an Olympic qualification, with the ‘B’ standard set at 1:46.30. <br /><br />It was India’s first medal in the men’s 800 metres in 22 years.<br />India had disappointments in store in other events on the day. The women’s 4x400 team, a scratch combination thanks to the dope tests that ruled out all the top runners, had hoped to win at least a bronze from a depleted field. <br /><br />But the foursome of K Mrudula, Jhuma Khatun, OP Jaisha and Tintu Luka finished fourth and last, even behind Iraq, clocking a pathetic 2:44.17. The men’s longer relay squad was disqualified for an exchange zone violation while the 4x100 team ended eighth.<br />India ended the championships with one gold, two silver and eight bronze medals, a realistic reflection of their current form and capabilities, in contrast to the five-gold feat at the Asian Games. In the last Asian meet in 2009, India had won one gold, four silver and seven bronze.<br /><br />Hosts Japan swept all the four relays on the final day to displace China from the top position on the medals table. Japan had a tally of 11 gold, 10 silver and 11 bronze while China ended with 10-12-5. Liu Xiang’s championship record of 13.22 seconds to win the 110M hurdles for the fourth time was the other highlight of the final day.<br /><br />Results:<br /><br />Men: 200M: Femi Seun Ogunade (Qatar) 20.41 seconds, 1; Hitoshi Saito (Japan) 20.75, 2; OJB Alsalfa (UAE) 20.97, 3.<br />800M: Mohd Alazemi (Kuwait) 1:46.14, 1; Sajad Moradi (Iran) 1:46.35, 2; Ghamanda Ram (India) 1:46.46, 3. Sajeesh Joseph (India) 1:48.56, 5.<br />110M hurdles: Liu Xiang (China) 13.22 seconds, 1; Shi Dongpeng (China) 13.56, 2; Park Taekyong (South Korea) 13.66, 3.<br />Long jump: Su Xiongfeng (China) 8.19 metres, 1; Na Ayu Sukhasvasti (Thailand) 8.05, 2; Rikiya Saruyama (Japan) 8.05, 3.<br />Javelin throw: Yukifumi Murakami (Japan) 83.27, 1; Park Jaemyoung (South Korea) 80.19, 2; Ivan Zaitcev (Uzbekistan) 79.22, 3.<br />4x100M relay: Japan 39.18 seconds, 1; Hong Kong 39.26, 2; Chinese Taipei 39.30, 3. India (Ritesh Anand, KK Rane, Shameer Mon, Rahmatollah Molla) 40.38, 8.<br />4x400M relay: Japan 3:04.72, 1; Saudi Arabia 3:08.03; Iran 3:08.58, 3.<br /><br />Women: 200M: Chisato Fukushima (Japan) 23.49 seconds, 1; Gretta Taslakian (Lebanon) 24.01, 2; Saori Imai (Japan) 24.06, 3.<br />800M: Truong Thanh Hang (Vietnam) 2:01.41, 1; Margarita Matsko (Kazakhstan) 2:02.46, 2; Tintu Luka (India) 2:02.55, 3.<br />3000M steeplechase: Minori Hayakari (Japan) 9:52.42, 1; Sudha Singh (India) 10:08.52, 2; Nguyen Thu Phong (Vietnam) 10:14.94, 3. Priyanka Singh Patel (India) 10:56.88, 6.<br />100M hurdles: Sun Yawei (China) 13.04 seconds, 1; Jung Hyelim (South Korea) 13.11, 2; Natalya Ivoninskaya (Kazakhstan) 13.15, 3.<br />High jump: Zheng Xingjian (China) 1.92 metres, 1; Svetlana Radzivil (Uzbekistan) 1.92, 2; Maria Aitova (Kazakhstan) 1.89, 3.<br />Shot put: Meng Qianqian (China) 18.31 metres, 1; Liu Xiangrong (China) 18.30, 2; Rajabi Leyla (Iran) 16.60, 3.<br />4x100M relay: Japan 44.05 seconds, 1; China 44.23, 2; Thailand 44.62, 3.<br />4x400M relay: Japan 3:35.00, 1; Kazakhstan 3:36.61, 2; Iraq 3:41.91, 3. India (Mridula, Jhuma, Jaisha, Tintu) 3:44.17, 4.</p>
