Pole vaulters Dev, Kuldeep start strong in season opener

Bengaluru: Madhya Pradesh pole vault duo Dev Kumar Meena and Kuldeep Kumar cleared the Commonwealth Games qualification standard with 5.25 metre attempts each on Day 1 of the National Open Jump competition here on Saturday.

While their selection for the July-August’s Glasgow CWG is subject to Athletics Federation of India’s clearance from selection committee, which also mandated participation in Federation Cup and Inter-State Championships later in the year, the pole vaulters would have a shot at breaking the nation’s duck in the event.

The pole vaulters, coached by Ghanshyam Yadav, also attempted to improve the national record -- by Dev at 5.40m last July -- by setting the bar at 5.41m in pursuit of the Asian Games qualification standard of 5.45. However, none could go past it in their respective three attempts while Kuldeep posted his personal best. Tamil Nadu’s M Gowtham took the third place with his best attempt of 5.10m.

“I am happy with the outcome as we came here with the mentality to clear the Commonwealth mark at least,” Dev told DH. “However, my coach wanted to clear the Asian Games mark too, so a bit of disappointment there. But no worries, we have a long season ahead. We are likely to compete in Taiwan later, will look to improve there.”

Meanwhile star triple jumpers Abdulla Aboobacker and Praveen Chithravel breached the Asian Games qualification mark of 16.28m without much trouble. 2022 CWG silver medallist Abdulla took the gold with an attempt of 16.83 while NR holder Praveen leapt to 16.72 in a good start to their season as the day saw no 17-plus jump.

Tamil Nadu’s Gailey Venister, who took third place, also cleared the Asiad mark with an attempt of 16.48.

In the high jump final, favourite Sarvesh Anil Kushare took the gold medal with an attempt of 2.14m but the Maharashtra athlete fell short of the Asiad mark of 2.19m despite going for the mark in his final attempts.

There was a surprise participation in the event too as differently-abled athlete Nishad Kumar, two-time Paralympics silver medallist and reigning Para World Champion, showed up at the able-bodied event while missing the World Para Athletics Grand Prix which concluded in New Delhi on Saturday. The 26-year-old para jumper, who is competing in an able-bodied event after three-year gap, managed a strong 2.10m jump to finish fifth in the event.

Meanwhile, Karnataka won their first medal, a gold, at the event as triple jumper Nithya Shree V, who won the two-participant women’s U-20 final with her personal best of 12.00m. Daughter of a farmer from Kaggalahallli village in Budigere, Nithya made her debut in the U-20 category this season.

Results: Men: Triple jump: Abdulla Aboobacker (IAF) 16.83m, 1; Praveen Chithravel (TN) 16.78m, 2; Gailey Venister (TN) 16.48m, 3. Pole vault: Dev Meena (MP) 5.25m, 1; Kuldeep Kumar (MP) 5.25m, 2; M Gowtham 5.10m, 3. High jump: Sarvesh Kushare (Mah) 2.16m, 1; Aaditya Raghuvanshi (MP) 2.13m, 2; Swadhin Kr Majhi (Odi) 2.13m 3.

U-20: High jump: Basant (Raj) 2.14m, 1; Srivattsan N (TN) 2.09m, 2; Afroz Ahmad (Jha) 1.99m, 3. Triple jump: Dhanush Raj M (Ker) 15.08m, 1; Daksh Bishnoi (Pun) 14.98m, 2; Karthikeyan G (TN) 14.85m, 3

U-18: High jump: Devak Bhushan (Ker) 2.03m, 1; Zubin Gohain (JSW) 1.95m, 2; Virendra Ranaware (Mah) 1.85m, 3

Women: U-20: High jump: Nithya Shree V (Kar) 12m, 1; Pramar Hemanshiben (Guj) 11.14m, 2. Pole Vault: Tanu Yadav (UP) 3.55m, 1; Priyadharshini Veera (TN) 3.30m, 2; Chuki Birda (Raj) 3.20m.