Inter-State Athletics: Ancy Sojan wins Long Jump battle, Jena crosses 80m
Ancy Sojan won the much talked about women's long jump battle while Kishore Kumar Jena crossed 80m for first-time in the season.
Kishore Kumar Jena at Asian Games (Source: PTI)
Panchkula, Haryana: The final day of the National Inter-State Athletics Championship turned out to be eventful with the national record of Mixed Relay tumbling down, Ancy Sojan winning the tight long jump battle and Kishore Jena crossing 80m for the first time in the season.
Abdulla Aboobacker and Praveen Chitravel battled it out in the men's triple jump as the former took the gold with a jump of 17.00m and Parveen won the silver with 16.98m.
Star hurdler Jyothi Yarraji clocked 13.05s in 100m women's hurdles to win the gold medal despite a slight injury while Tejas Shirse's Olympics dream ended despite the gold medal.
Mixed Relay National Record tumbles
India A team consisting of Muhammad Anas, Muhammed Ajmal, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Kiran Pahal shattered the national record in the mixed 4x400m relay with a timing of 3:12:87.
The previous national record stood at 3:14:12 which was clocked by the quartet of Amoj Jacob, Ajmal, Subha Venkatesh, and Jyothika at the Asian Relay Championships in May.
Ancy wins the Long Jump on countback
The women's long jump final lived up to the billing as Ancy Sojan, Shaili Singh, and Nayana James were locked in a fierce battle.
Ancy won the gold on countback as she and Shaili jumped 6.59m but Ancy's second-best jump was better than Shaili's.
Experienced Nayana James finished third with a best jump of 6.42m.
This is the first time in the season when all three jumpers have played together with Ancy starting the season late due to injury.
Heartbreak for Tejas Shirse in hurdles
Indian hurdler Tejas Shirse won gold in the 110m hurdles and broke the meet record but despite his best efforts, his Olympic dream was over. His ranking in Road To Paris won't improve much as the last day of the qualification window ended.
Talking about the heartbreak, Tejas said," I have matured over time and I don't think two years back I would have dreamt of the Olympics. It is not a good feeling for sure but that's how it is. I will focus on the 2028 LA Olympics."
In women's 100m hurdles, Jyothi Yarraji clocked 13.06s winning the gold medal despite tough competition from Pragyan Sahu with a timing of 13.15s.
Kishore Jena finds rhythm before the Paris Olympics
Olympic-bound Kishore Kumar Jena crossed 80m in the season for the first time as he clinched bronze in the men's Javelin Throw.
Sahil Silwal made a comeback and won the gold with 81.81m while Vikrant Malik won silver with the best throw of 81.74m.