Bimin sets new mark

Southern Railway’s K P Bimin set a national record in pole vault on the opening day of the All-India inter-railway athletics meet here on Thursday.

Bimin cleared 5.13 metres to go past the mark of 5.10 set by Vijay Pal Singh 25 years ago in Thiruvananthapuram.

Questions cropped up whether the mark would be approved but the Athletics Federation of India secretary C K Valson said it would certainly be considered for ratificiation.

“We have our technical delegate in Bhopal and we will await his report,” he said from Chennai.

Bimin’s previous best was 5.05 metres achieved in 2009. “I had trained well and was confident of going past the record here,” Bimin said.

Meanwhile, Renjith Maheswary, who had flopped at the London Olympic Games fouling all his jumps in the qualification round, won the triple jump with an effort of 15.85 metres.