Relay quartet extends golden run

Priyanka, Tintu, Mandeep and Poovamma smash Games record en route to 4x400 crown

On a day of records, the Indian women’s relay team etched their names in history by sweeping to glory in splendid fashion at the 17th Asian Games here on Thursday.

Determined to make up for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games disappointment where they failed to make the final, the quartet of Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and MR Poovamma asserted the country’s supremacy in the continent, smashing their own 4x400M relay Games’ record set in Guangzhou 2010 with a brilliant time of 3:28.68 at the Asiad Main Stadium.

“We were very confident of winning the gold,” an ecstatic Poovamma said. “We wanted to make up for the Commonwealth Games horror. That hurt us very badly. We trained a lot during the trials at Patiala. Priyanka, Mandeep and I run run 400M regularly while Tintu runs the 800M but she has got great pace. It’s a brilliant team effort.”

The women’s relay team was one of the favourites to grab a gold in athletics and they accomplished it in superb fashion. Priyanka started the race in Lane 4 but couldn’t muster much pace on a cold evening, handing the baton to Tintu behind Japan.

Fresh from a silver medal finish in the 800M, Tintu, known for her early pace, hit the front after battling it out with the Japanese and by time she passed the responsibility onto Mandeep, who was part of the Guangzhou gold-medal winning team, India were well ahead.

Seasoned Mandeep then ran a fine third leg before Poovamma finished the job in style, running a superb anchor leg. Japan finished second at 3:30.80 while China took bronze at 3:32.02. 

Inderjit Singh won a bronze in the men’s shot put, managing a hurl of 19.63 metres, behind gold medal winner Sultan Abdulmajeed (19.99) of Saudi Arabia and Ming Huang (19.97) of Chinese Taipei. Om Prakash Karhana, whose inclusion in the squad was itself in doubt after fitness concerns, disappointed, ending ninth after registering a meagre 16.94.Arpinder Singh and Renjith Maheswary faltered miserably in the men’s triple jump, finishing fifth and ninth respectively. Arpinder, with a best of 17.17 metres, leapt 16.41, a performance that was marked by four fouls, Renjith could only manage 15.67.

The Indian men’s 4x400 relay team, comprising P Kunhu Mohammed, Joseph Abraham, Jithin Paul and Arokia Rajiv, gave a good account of themselves by finishing fourth with a time of 3:04.61. The women’s 4x100 team, featuring Sharadha Narayana, Asha Roy, Srabani Nanda and H M Jyothi, was sixth in 44.91 seconds. High jumper Sahana Kumari could only clear 1.80 metres  to end up in eighth position. 



Results: Men: 10000M: Elhassan Elabbassi (Brn) 28:11.20, 1; Suguru Osako (Jpn) 28:11.94, 2; Isaac Korir (Brn) 28:45.65, 3. Shot put: Sultan Abdulmajeed (KSA) 19.99, 1; Ming Haung Chang (Tpe) 19.97, 2; Inderjeet Singh (19.63) 3. Om Prakash Singh (Ind) 16.94, 9. Javelin throw: Zhao Qinggang (Chn) 89.15 metres (AR, GR; Old AR: 87.60, Kazuhiro Mizoguchi, Jpn, 1989; Old GR: 83.38, Zhang Lianbiao, Chn, 1994) 1; Ryohei Arai (Jpn) 84.42, 2; Ivan Zaytsev (Uzb) 83.68, 3. Rajnder Singh (Ind) 73.43, 11. Triple jump: Cao Shuo (Chn) 17.30, 1; Bin Dong (Chn) 16.95, 2; Kim Deokhyeon (Kor) 16.93, 3. Arpinder Singh (Ind) 16.41, 5. Renjith Maheswary (Ind) 15.67, 9. 4x100M: China (37.99 seconds) (AR, GR, Old AR: 38.03, Japan, 2007; Old GR: 38.78, China 2010) 1; Japan (38.49) 2; Hong Kong (38.98) 3. 4x400M: Japan (3:01.88) 1; Korea (3:04.03) 2; Saudi Arabia (3:04.03) 3. India (3:04.61) 4. 

Women: 5000M: Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Brn) 14:59.69, 1; Mimi Belete (Brn) 15: 00.87, 2; Ding Changqin (Chn) 15:12.51, 3. 4x100M relay: China (42.83) (GR: Old: 43.36, China 1998) 1; Kazakhstan (43.90) 2; Japan (44.05) 3. India (44.91) 6. 4x400M relay: India (Priyanka Panwar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur, MR Poovamma) 3:28.68 (GR; Old: 3:29.02, India, 2010) 1; Japan (3:30.80) 2; China (3:32.02) 3. High jump: Svetlana Radvizil (Uzb) 1.94, 1; Zheng Xingjuan (Chn) 1.92, 2; Nadiya Dusanova (Uzb) 1.89, 3.  Marathon: Eunice Jepkirui (Brn) 2:25:37, 1; Ryoko Kizaki (Jpn) 2:25:50, 2; Lishan Dula (Brn) 2:33:13, 3.