Sudha earns berth for Moscow Worlds

Steeplechaser Sudha Singh earned a berth for this year’s World Championships in Moscow with a national record on the third day of National Inter-State Athletics Championships here.

The 26-year-old Sudha, a chief ticket inspector in Central Railway, clocked 9:45.60 to improve her record of 9:47.70 set in Huelva, Spain, last year. In the process, she also ducked under the World Championships ‘B’ standard of 9:48.00.

Sudha Singh

It was Sudha’s eighth national mark in a span of six years. It turned out to be a one-horse race as the Uttar Pradesh runner broke away from the bunch and started a lonely quest for the gold and record right from the beginning. She never looked back and crossed the line in style, even as her coach J S Bhatia celebrated in the stands.

Sudha, the reigning Asian Games gold medallist, had won two silver medals in the Asian championships in 2009 and 2011. With this year’s meet coming up in Pune, she said she was looking forward to the contest. “I am confident of winning the gold at Pune,” a beaming Sudha told reporters after the race.

Thursday’s performance put Sudha as the Asian leader in her event.

Double for Mayookha

Asian long jump champion Mayookha Johny completed a double, winning the triple jump to add to the long jump gold she won on the first day.

Mayookha trailed her Kerala state-mate N V Sheena after the first three rounds. However she leapt to 13.46 metres in the fourth round and that  assured her of the top spot. She then went further with a 13.58M leap. Jithin Thomas retained his title in the high jump after edging out his main rival Nikhil Chittarasu of Tamil Nadu.

Results:

Men: 3000M steeplechase: Jaiveer (Haryana) 8:54.42, 1; Naveen Kumar (Haryana) 8:56.00, 2; Karamvir (Rajasthan) 9:00.42, 3.
High jump: Jithin C Thomas (Kerala) 2.17 metres, 1; Nikhil Chittarasu (Tamil Nadu) 2.17, 2; Sreenith Mohan (Kerala) 2.09, 3.
Pole vault: Praveen Kumar (Haryana) 4.90 metres, 1; Balakrishna P (Karnataka) 4.85, 2; Sonu Saini (Haryana) 4.75, 3.
Hammer throw: Chandrodaya Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 67.54 metres, 1; Kamalpreet Singh (Punjab) 62.83, 2; Kaushal Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 62.69, 3.
20Km walk: Babubhai Panucha (Gujarat) 1:28:07.20, 1; Surinder Singh (Punjab) 1:28:32.60, 2; Ganapathi (Tamil Nadu) 1:30:08.10, 3.
4x100M relay: Kerala 40.49 seconds, 1; Tamil Nadu 41.21, 2; Punjab 42.23, 3.
Women: 3000M steeplechase: Sudha Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 9:45.60 (National record. Old: 9:47.70, Sudha Singh, 2012), 1; Kiran Tiwari (Haryana) 10:32.94, 2; Priyanka Patel (Uttar Pradesh) 10:45.32, 3.
Triple jump: Mayookha Johny (Kerala) 13.58 metres, 1; Sheena N V (Kerala) 13.17, 2; Amitha Baby (Chhattisgarh) 12.84, 3.
Hammer throw: Manju Bala (Rajasthan) 56.84 metres, 1; Gunjan Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 54.45, 2; Savitha P (Madhya Pradesh) 52.28, 3.
20Km walk: Deepmala Devi (Jharkhand) 1:44:20.0, 1; Rani Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) 1:46:59.40, 2; Ranjana Gupta (Madhya Pradesh) 1:50:02.20, 3.
4x100M relay: Kerala 46.77 seconds, 1; Bengal 47.05, 2; Tamil Nadu 47.49, 3.