Athletics
Indian Open Jumps: Pavithra Vengatesh clinches pole vault gold notching new PB
Pavithra clinched the yellow metal by bettering her previous personal best effort of 4.10m by 5cm. But she missed out of the national record by 7cm.
Pavithra Vengatesh of Tamil Nadu achieved a new personal best at the 3rd Indian Open Jumps in Bengaluru on March 20, 2024.
Pavithra Vengatesh of Tamil Nadu came close to breaking the national record but fell short of the mark as she clinched the gold medal in the women's pole vault at the third India Open Jumps competition in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Pavithra, however, returned with a personal best effort of 4.15m, falling 7cm short of Roy Meena Paulraj's national record of 4.21m achieved in 2022 at the National Open athletics championships.
Pavithra had crossed the 4.22m thrice, but all of her efforts were red-flagged by the line judge.
In a field, where no other athlete managed to cross the four metres mark, the 22-year-old, who won the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships silver in 2023, clinched the yellow metal by bettering her PB of 4.10m by 5cm.
Mariya Jaison of Kerala bagged the silver medal with a 3.80m jump, which is much lower than her personal best of 3.90m.
Sindhushree G of Karnataka won the bronze medal.
This feat is particularly rewarding for Pavithra, who was forced to miss the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held in Tehran last month after her airline refused to allow her equipment in checked baggage. The Athletics Federation of India's (AFI) efforts also did not yield any positive results. Pavithra had to return to her hometown Salem following this setback.
Athira sparkles on comeback
Athira Somaraj of Kerala, meanwhile, made her comeback after a gap of two years by winning the gold medal in the women's high jump event. In the process, she also equalled her personal best effort of 1.76m.
In 2019, Athira achieved the mark for the first time at the Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, Kevinaa Ashwine of Tamil Nadu (1.74m) won the silver medal but fell short of her PB by 0.02m. Khushi of Haryana won the bronze medal with her new Personal Best of 1.68m.
In the women's triple jump event, Poorva Hitesh Sawant and Sharvari Avinash Parulei made a double podium finish for Maharashtra.
Poorva clinched the gold medal in an intense battle against Sharvari. Both players touched the mark of 13.31m but Poorva won on count back with a second-best jump of 13.25m. Experienced, Sheena N V of Kerala won the bronze medal with a 13.18m effort.
