Asian Games
Asian Games Athletics: Sreeshankar, Jeswin qualify for long jump final
Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin booked their places in the men's long jump final, while Jyothi Yarraji made it to the women's 100m hurdles final, finishing 3rd in the heats.
Jeswin Aldrin and Murali Sreeshankar (Source: Inspire Institute of Sport/Twitter)
Five Indian athletes qualified for the final on Saturday morning at the Asian Games 2023, increasing India's chances of winning more medals in athletics. On Friday, Kiran Baliyan opened India's account in athletics, winning the women's shot put bronze medal.
Long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin started the seventh day of the Games on a high note by qualifying for the final of the men's long jump event.
Placed in two different groups, Sreeshankar and Jeswin recorded best jumps of 7.97 metres and 7.67m respectively to book their final berth.
Sreeshankar, competing in Heat 2, breached the direct qualification mark of 7.90m in his first attempt when he came up with a leap of 7.97m and didn't jump any more jumps to conserve his energy for the final.
On the other hand, national record holder Jeswin, placed in Heat 1, struggled with his rhythm as he failed to register a legal jump in the first two attempts. He jumped 7.67m in his final attempt which was good enough for him to secure a spot in the medal round.
Jyothi Yarraji, the hurdler, clocked 13.03s in the 100m hurdles to finish second in Heat 1 and third overall to secure a direct qualification to the final of the event to be held on Monday.
Chinese hurdlers Yuwei Lin (12.79s) and Yanni Wu (12.80s) claimed the top spots at the end of two heats.
Another Indian in the mix, Nithya Ramaraj also made it to the final after finishing seventh fastest overall in the heat with a timing of 13.30s.
Jinson Johnson, Ajay Saroj through to 1500m final
In the 1500m race, defending Asian Games champion Jinson Johnson and current Asian champion Ajay Kumar Saroj qualified for the final across two heats.
It was an easy race for Ajay as he finished second behind Saudi Arabia's Raed Khairallah (3:51.80s) in Heat 1 with a timing of 3:51.93s.
Defending champion Johnson was caught in a crowded race where he finished fifth with a timing of 3:56.22 and secured his berth for the final.
Later in the day, Aishwarya Mishra will feature in women's 400m final while Mohammad Ajmal will compete in the men's 400m final.
Swapna Barman and Nandini Agasara are currently in action in women’s heptathlon.
