Anas sets new mark, qualifies for Worlds

Mohammad Anas set a new national record by clocking 45.32 seconds in men’s 400M and qualified for the World Championships at the Indian Grand Prix-3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.

Anas, 22, bettered his own national record which he had established at the Polish Athletics Championships in June 2016, recording 45.40 seconds, the exact timing needed to qualify for the Rio Games. This day Anas comfortably broke away from the field and left behind competitor and friend Arokia Rajiv, who finished second at 46.32. Sachin Roby finished third at 47.18 seconds.

“I gave my heart and soul in training in the last five months. It would have been disappointing if I hadn’t performed well today. I had come very close to qualifying for Worlds in my previous performances, so I am very satisfied today. I also wanted Rajiv to qualify, but he started slow,” said Anas who had missed the first two meets of the Asian Grand Prix in two China cities due to visa issues. He, however, won gold in the third leg at the Chinese Taipei where he clocked 45.69, falling short of World Championships entry mark by 0.19 seconds.

In the women’s 100M, Dutee Chand sprinted away with the gold medal in 11.30 seconds, followed by Merlin Joseph (11.72) and Himashree Roy (11.95).  In the men’s 100M, Husandeep Singh took gold (10.69).

Results:

Men: 100M: Husandeep Singh 10.69 seconds, 1; Safikul Mondal 10.76, 2; Mohammed Sadath 10.82, 3. 400M: Muhammed Anas 45.32 seconds, 1; Arokia Rajiv 46.32, 2; Sachin Roby 47.18, 3. 800M: Ajay Saroj 1:52.91 minutes, 1; Arun Kumar 1:53.52, 2; Shashi Kumar 1:54.21; 3. 5000M: Md. Yunus 14:50.93, 1; Man Singh 14:51.12, 2; Kalidas Hirve 14:51.76, 3; 110M hurdles: Akhil 14.44 seconds, 1; T. Balamurugan 14.58, 2; Sreekanth D 14.82, 3. Long jump: M. Sreeshankar 7.65 meters, 1; M Silambarasan 7.42, 2; S.P. Laxman 7.33, 3. Triple jump: Arpindar Singh 16. 23 meters, 1; Rakesh Babu 15.09, 2. Shot put: Jasdeep Singh 18.41 metres, 1; Jaspal Sing 16.33m, 2. Discus throw: Baljinder Singh 53.03 meters, 1; Parshant Mori 52.07, 2; Praveen Kumar Nehra 47.52, 3. Javelin throw: Davinder Singh 81.53 meters, 1; Vipin Kasana 77.08m, 2; Shivpal Singh 74.98m, 3. Hammer throw: Arjun Tomar 61.73 metres, 1; Ali Ahmed 54.14, 2.

Women: 100M: Dutee Chand 11.30 seconds, 1; Merlin Joseph 11.72, 2; Himashree Roy 11.95, 3. 400M: Jisna Mathew 52.65 seconds, 1; MR Poovamma 52.73, 2; Debashree Mazumdar 53.69, 3. 100M hurdles: Purnima Hembram 13.79 seconds, 1; Liksy Joseph 14.69, 2; Niksy Joseph 14.83, 3. Long jump: Anjali Sahani 5.11 metres, 1; Shiksha Singh 4.19, 2; Discus throw: M. Karuniya 41.06m, 1; Sonal Goyal 37.97m, 2. Javelin throw: Annu Rani 55.41 meters, 1; Rashmi K 50.65, 2;  Priyanka 46.69, 3.