Prem Kumar falters

Promising Indian long jumper Kumarvel Prem Kumar’s hopes of qualifying for next month’s World Championships took a blow as his 8.12M effort at a meet at Chula Vista in the United States turned out to be a wind-assisted one.

A strong tail wind (3.1 m/s) prevented Prem Kumar’s jump being listed as a new national record.
The ‘B’ standard for World Championships qualification stands at 8.10M while the national record in this event is held by Amritpal Singh (8.08M) since 2004.

The deadline for qualification in the World Championships is July 29.

Prem Kumar, who had won a silver in Asian Championships in Pune early this month, finished second behind American Ronald Taylor (8.19M) at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista in California on Friday.

The 20-year-old Prem opened with 7.76M before his 8.12 on the second round. He lost his rhythm on the third (6.20M), yet managed to pull off another outstanding 8.00M (with a legal wind of +1.4 m/s). His last two jumps read as 7.82 and 7.87M respectively.

He had cleared 7.92M in Pune while winning a silver in the Asian Championships.