Athletics
Dhanalakshmi beats Hima Das again at Indian Grand Prix 1
Dhanalakshmi (23.21s) won the women's 200m final while Priya Mohan won the 400m final. One of the best shows of the day came from long jumper Ancy Sojan.
Dhanalakshmi get gold medal in women's 200m (Source: SojanPhilip Photography/Facebook)
Hima Das finished second in the 200m final on her return to competition as Dhanalakshmi won the gold medal in the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Trivandrum on Sunday.
Hima and Dhanalakshmi, on Lanes 4 and 5, were the fastest in the final. While gold medal winner Dhanalakshmi of Tamil Nadu recorded 23.21 seconds, second-placed Hima Das of Assam recorded 23.45 seconds. They were the only two in the final to record less than 24 seconds.
However, neither of their times were good enough for gaining spots in this year's Asian Games or Commonwealth Games, according to standards set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
The Asian Games qualification standard set by AFI is 23.17 seconds. The Commonwealth Games qualification standard set by the federation is 22.70 seconds.
Hima Das, who finished second, goes up to Dhanalakshmi to congratulate her at the end of their race (Screenshot)
Hima was returning to action after June 2021, when an injury had pushed her out of the race for Tokyo Olympics. Her best in the 200m event is 22.88 seconds, which she achieved last year.
Dhanalakshmi had won the 200m event at last year's Federation Cup beating both Hima and Dutee Chand.
Assam sprinter Amlan Borgohain won the Men's 200m final with a time of 20.94, the only one in the final to record a sub-21 second time. Priya Mohan won the women's 400m final.
Ancy Sojan came up with one of the best shows of the day, winning the long jump gold with a best jump of 6.55 metres. Her mark meets the CWG and AG qualifying standards.
