JOIN USMayookha claims triple jump gold to complete double
Asian Games gold medallist and national record holder Sudha Singh, who was aiming for an Olympics berth from the meet, had to return home empty-handed as only two competitors turned up for 3000M steeplechase leading to the event being cancelled.
The day also witnessed an interesting race in the men’s 400M hurdles as Satender Singh and Avin A Thomas were adjudged gold medallists after a dead heat. In a rare case, they could not be separated in the photo finish and both were awarded a gold each after clocking an identical 51.49 seconds.
In red hot form after her effort of 14.11M in the Asian Athletics Championships in Japan in July, Mayookha had a modest effort of 13.71M but that was enough to better her own meet mark of 13.54M. The 23-year-old from Kerala, who was representing ONGC, had bagged her first gold in the long jump event on the opening day.
There was nobody to stand up against Mayookha after former national record holder MA Prajusha pulled out in the last minute following cramps. Mayookha has already secured a place in triple jump for next year’s London Olympics.
Kerala made a clean sweep in the women’s pole vault event with Anoosha KK, Anusha KP and Dija KC securing the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. Anoosha KK cleared a height of 3.40 metres to take home the yellow metal. While namesake Anusha KP also cleared the same height, she had to settle for second place after a countback. Dija KC took third after clearing a height of 3.30 metres.
Results: Men: 20km walk: Surinder Singh (Punjab) 1::29:03.90, 1; Babu Bhai (SSCB) 1::30:10.60, 2; Chandan Singh (SSCB) 1::34:25.70, 3.
Hammer: Harvinder Singh Dagar (ONGC) 63.37M, 1; Nirbhay Singh (SSCB) 63.32M, 2; Shiv Kumar (Uttr) 61.51M, 3.
400M hurdles: Satender Singh (Railways) 51.49, 1; Avin A Thomas (Railways) 51.49, 2; Shejil Verghese (SSCB) 51.95, 3.
Shot put: Om Prakash Singh (ONGC) 19.45M, 1; Sourabh Vij (ONGC) 18.17, 2; Tejinder Singh (Punjab) 18.01, 3.
Women: Heptathlon: Sindhu KD (Madhya Pradesh) 4958 points, 1; Purnima Hembram (Orissa) 4953, 2; Antana Khatun (Bengal) 4863. 3.
400M hurdles: Bhupinder Kaur (Punjab) 1:00.64, 1; Anu R (Kerala) 1:01.00, 2; Anju Rani 1:01.65, 3.
Triple Jump: Mayookha Johny (ONGC) 13.71, 1; Neethu Methew (Madhya Pradesh) 13.24, 2; Shradha Ghule (Maharashtra) 12.85, 3.
Pole vault: Anoosha KK (Kerala) 3.40, 1; Anusha K P (Kerala) 3.40, 2; Dija KC (Kerala) 3.30, 3.