Praveen Chitravel crosses 17m barrier in triple jump; qualifies for World Championships

Triple Jumper Praveen Chitravel, on Tuesday, became only the fifth Indian to break the 17m barrier in the sport when he leapt a distance of 17.18m at the ongoing National Inter-State Athletics in Chennai.

Chitravel is now the second Indian to qualify for the World Championships in men's triple jump after Abdulla Aboobacker achieved the standard with a jump of 17.17m during the Indian Grand Prix in Bhubaneswar last month.

His attempt of 17.18m is now an Inter-States record, going past Arpinder Singh's 17.17m and is also the third best jump-ever recorded by an Indian.

While Chitravel walks away with the gold medal from the Inter States, Aboobacker once again breached that 17m margin with a leap of 17.14m to bag the silver medal. On the other hand, the talented Eldose Paul could only manage 16.81m for the bronze.