Quartermiler Kiran Pahal breaches Olympics qualification mark in 400m

Panchkula, Haryana: Returning to the track after more than 18 months, Kiran Pahal breached the Paris Olympics qualification mark in women's 400m at the Inter-State National Athletics Championships on Thursday.

Running in the women's 400m semi-final, Kiran clocked a stunning 50.92s to breach the 2024 Olympics qualification mark of 50.95s.

Earlier in the morning, Kiran clocked 52.33s in the first round of the 400m.

Her previous personal was 51.84s which she clocked in 2022 Haryana Athletics Championships.

"I had no idea about the qualification but I feel more than happy at the moment," an elated Kiran told The Bridge after her qualification.

Hailing from Sonepat, Kiran was away from track for 18 months due to hamstring issue and her family problems.

Talking about the final tomorrow, Kiran said,"I will do my best in the final and you can see a better timing. My only focus was to run well and the result came by."

Kiran's timing is second best timing in the Indian history.

Hima Das holds the national record in 400m with a timing of 50.79m which she clocked at 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.

Gurindervir leads 100m showdown

In men's 100m semifinal, Gurindervir Singh led the semi-final with the best timing of 10.44s.

Amlan Borgohain clocked 10.53s while Animesh Kujur clocked 10.54s to win their respective heats. 

National record holder Manikanta didn't start the semifinals.

Gold for Ankita and Gulveer in 5000m

Ankita Dhyani clinched the gold medal in the women's 5000m with a timing of 16:10.31s while Gulveer Singh took a dominating victory in men's 5000m, clocking 13:34.27. However, this timing will not help them in improving their race to Paris rankings.

Meanwhile, Parvej Khan comfortably booked his place in the final after winning the first heat of men's 1500m round-1 qualification. He clocked a timing of 3:45.93s to finish ahead of  BRICS Games medallist Yoonus Shah in the heat-1.