<p> Lili Das applied the gloss of a national record to the opening day of the 14th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championships here on Tuesday en route to winning the gold in the 1500 metres.<br /><br /></p>.<p>At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Lili displayed all the determination that drives a young woman from an impoverished background towards success. In the process, she also attained the qualifying norm for the World Junior Championships in Poland next month.<br /><br />The Bengal athlete clocked 4:20.31, bettering the mark of 4:27.26 set by Pinki Kumari in 2014. Lili, who is also the reigning Junior National champion, easily went under the qualifying mark of 4:28.20 before tumbling on to the track in sheer exhaustion.<br /><br />Harmilan Kaur, the silver winner, was more than seven seconds behind in second place, the Punjab runner timing 4:28.05. She also met the qualifying norm for the Junior Worlds.<br /> “It is a fantastic performance, considering that it has come at an altitude,” gushed Kalyan Chaudhary, Lili’s coach at the Sports Authority of India’s Eastern Centre. The 17-year-old, who hails from Triveni village of Hooghly district, shoulders all the hopes of her family, with her father having lost his job at a jute mill.<br /><br />“She has an offer from Eastern Railway, for that she has to turn 18,” said Chaudhary.<br />Jharkhand’s Priyanka Kerketta, another talent from rural regions, struck gold in junior women’s long jump with an effort of 5.99 metres while Karnataka’s Aishwarya B picked up hosts’ first medal, a bronze, with a leap of 5.60.<br /><br />Ch Sudhakar of Telangana claimed the junior men’s 100M gold in 10.74 seconds while Siddhi Hiray of Maharashtra won the corresponding junior women’s race in 12.19 seconds.<br /><br />Overage issue<br /><br />Himachal Pradesh’s Heena, who won the 5000M for junior women in the morning, was disqualified after she was found overage. Tamil Nadu’s Jothi, who had finished second originally, was elevated to the first position.<br /><br />Results: Junior Men: 100M: Ch Sudhakar (Telangana) 10.74 seconds, 1; Chirag (Haryana) 10.81, 2; Joseph Joe M (Kerala) 10.82, 3.<br /><br />1500M: Manjeet Singh (Manipur) 3:57.45, 1; Dinesh Lathwal (Haryana) 3;57.88, 2; Yogesh (Maharashtra) 3:58.95, 3.<br /><br />5000M: Gavit Murali (Gujarat) 14:44.90, 1; Kisan Tadvi (Maharashtra) 14:46.16, 2; Abhishek Pal (Assam) 14:47.84, 3.<br /><br />Shot put: Ashish Bhalothi (Haryana) 17.41 metres, 1; Ram Chandra (Uttar Pradesh) 16.44, 2; Udit Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 16.30, 3.<br /><br />Junior women: 100M: Siddhi Hiray (Maharashtra) 12.19 seconds, 1; Rajashree P (West Bengal) 12.40, 2; Sweta Hake (Maharashtra) 12.48, 3.<br /><br />1500M: Lili Das (Bengal) 4:20.31 (National Record. Old: 4:27.26, Pinki Kumari, 2014), 1; Harmilan Kaur (Punjab) 4:28.05, 2; Dugra (Maharashtra) 4:38.12, 3.<br /><br />5000M: Jothi (Tamil Nadu) 17:53.62, 1; Sudha Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 17:59.78, 2; Sudha Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 17:59.78, 3.<br /><br />Long jump: Priyanka Kerketta (Jharkhand) 5.99 metres, 1; Soma Karmakar (Bengal) 5.76, 2; Aishwarya B (Karnataka) 5.60, 3.<br /><br />Javelin throw: Pushpa Jakhar (Haryana) 47.73 metres, 1; Runjun Pegu (Assam) 42.22, 2; Priyanka (Haryana) 41.47, 3. <br /></p>
<p> Lili Das applied the gloss of a national record to the opening day of the 14th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championships here on Tuesday en route to winning the gold in the 1500 metres.<br /><br /></p>.<p>At the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Lili displayed all the determination that drives a young woman from an impoverished background towards success. In the process, she also attained the qualifying norm for the World Junior Championships in Poland next month.<br /><br />The Bengal athlete clocked 4:20.31, bettering the mark of 4:27.26 set by Pinki Kumari in 2014. Lili, who is also the reigning Junior National champion, easily went under the qualifying mark of 4:28.20 before tumbling on to the track in sheer exhaustion.<br /><br />Harmilan Kaur, the silver winner, was more than seven seconds behind in second place, the Punjab runner timing 4:28.05. She also met the qualifying norm for the Junior Worlds.<br /> “It is a fantastic performance, considering that it has come at an altitude,” gushed Kalyan Chaudhary, Lili’s coach at the Sports Authority of India’s Eastern Centre. The 17-year-old, who hails from Triveni village of Hooghly district, shoulders all the hopes of her family, with her father having lost his job at a jute mill.<br /><br />“She has an offer from Eastern Railway, for that she has to turn 18,” said Chaudhary.<br />Jharkhand’s Priyanka Kerketta, another talent from rural regions, struck gold in junior women’s long jump with an effort of 5.99 metres while Karnataka’s Aishwarya B picked up hosts’ first medal, a bronze, with a leap of 5.60.<br /><br />Ch Sudhakar of Telangana claimed the junior men’s 100M gold in 10.74 seconds while Siddhi Hiray of Maharashtra won the corresponding junior women’s race in 12.19 seconds.<br /><br />Overage issue<br /><br />Himachal Pradesh’s Heena, who won the 5000M for junior women in the morning, was disqualified after she was found overage. Tamil Nadu’s Jothi, who had finished second originally, was elevated to the first position.<br /><br />Results: Junior Men: 100M: Ch Sudhakar (Telangana) 10.74 seconds, 1; Chirag (Haryana) 10.81, 2; Joseph Joe M (Kerala) 10.82, 3.<br /><br />1500M: Manjeet Singh (Manipur) 3:57.45, 1; Dinesh Lathwal (Haryana) 3;57.88, 2; Yogesh (Maharashtra) 3:58.95, 3.<br /><br />5000M: Gavit Murali (Gujarat) 14:44.90, 1; Kisan Tadvi (Maharashtra) 14:46.16, 2; Abhishek Pal (Assam) 14:47.84, 3.<br /><br />Shot put: Ashish Bhalothi (Haryana) 17.41 metres, 1; Ram Chandra (Uttar Pradesh) 16.44, 2; Udit Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 16.30, 3.<br /><br />Junior women: 100M: Siddhi Hiray (Maharashtra) 12.19 seconds, 1; Rajashree P (West Bengal) 12.40, 2; Sweta Hake (Maharashtra) 12.48, 3.<br /><br />1500M: Lili Das (Bengal) 4:20.31 (National Record. Old: 4:27.26, Pinki Kumari, 2014), 1; Harmilan Kaur (Punjab) 4:28.05, 2; Dugra (Maharashtra) 4:38.12, 3.<br /><br />5000M: Jothi (Tamil Nadu) 17:53.62, 1; Sudha Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 17:59.78, 2; Sudha Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 17:59.78, 3.<br /><br />Long jump: Priyanka Kerketta (Jharkhand) 5.99 metres, 1; Soma Karmakar (Bengal) 5.76, 2; Aishwarya B (Karnataka) 5.60, 3.<br /><br />Javelin throw: Pushpa Jakhar (Haryana) 47.73 metres, 1; Runjun Pegu (Assam) 42.22, 2; Priyanka (Haryana) 41.47, 3. <br /></p>
