Delhi’s Tejaswin Shankar claimed a gruelling decathlon title to secure Asian Games berth, while 100m champion Jyothi Yarraji of Andhra Pradesh added 100m hurdles title to her kitty on the third day of the 62nd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship here on Friday.
On another exciting day, as many as 12 athletes achieve Asian Games berths.
West Bengal’s 2018 Asian Games champion in heptathlon Swapna Barman ensured she will defend her title at the Hangzhou Asian Games as she bettered the qualification points of 5654. She won gold with 5918 points.
Telangana’s Agasara Nandini finished second with 5703 points to also secure the Asian Games berth.
On her way to winning gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, Andhra Pradesh’s promising sprinter Jyothi Yarraji dipped below the Asian Games qualification time of 13.63 secs. Despite clocking 12.92 seconds the champion athlete wasn’t excited. “I wanted to break the 12.90 seconds barrier. But I fumbled at the third hurdle, which spoiled my rhythm and I missed my goal today,” Jyothi said after winning her second gold in the competition.
A sustained effort by Nithya R. of Tamil Nadu and Agasara Nandini from Telangana gave them something to cheer on as they sailed past the Asian Games qualification time of 13.63 seconds.
Nithya R finished second at 13.48 secs, while Agasara Nandini who also qualified in the heptathlon was third in 13.55 secs.
The high jumping pit duo of Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) and Jesse Sandesh (Karnataka) celebrated by equaling the Asian Games mark of 2.24m. However, Sarvesh Anil Kushare was the winner, while Jesse Sandesh finished second.
In the men’s triple jump event top three athletes—Praveen Chithravel, Abdulla Aboobacker and Eldhose Paul-finished in that order—cleared the Asian Games qualification mark of 16.60m. Meanwhile, Akhilesh of Karnataka badly injured his right leg during take-off after the first jump and was out of competition.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selection committee will take a final call on how many athletes will represent the country in the Asian Games.
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