Athletics
Sprinter Siva Kumar's premature celebrations overshadow 100m triumph
Tamil Nadu athlete Siva Kumar started celebrating before the finish line at the National Inter State Athletics Championship, costing him crucial milliseconds.
National Inter State Athletics Championship 100m gold medalist, Siva Kumar [Image credit: Tanmay Das, Twitter]
An unusual sight was seen on the second day of the National Inter State Athletics Championship 2023 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, which is acting as a selection trial for the upcoming Asian Games at Hangzhou.
Tamil Nadu’s Siva Kumar edged past Punjab sprinter Harjit Singh to win the men’s 100m event, but more remarkable than his timing was what he did to lose crucial miliseconds.
Siva Kumar clocked an impressive timing of 10.37 seconds to secure gold at the event. A margin of 0.8 seconds separated Kumar and Singh while Elakkiyadasan of Tamil Nadu clinched third position. Interestingly enough, only 0.5 seconds separated Gurindervir Singh in 5th position from Harjit Singh in 2nd position.
Siva Kumar previously clocked the exact same timing at the 25th AFI Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships last year. Kumar could have perhaps bettered his own personal best and set an even more impressive under the 10.30s if it wasn’t for his premature celebrations.
Few netizens were caught off guard with Kumar’s peculiar actions twoards the end of the race.
About fifteen yards from the finishing line, the sprinter pulled back and raised his finger in celebration. Some feel that it was a wasted opportunity for Kumar and that the athlete hailing from Tamil Nadu needs to realise how crucial milliseconds can be in such a competitive sport where the margins are thin. Perhaps, the adrenaline got the better of Kumar in this instance.
Where to watch?
The National Inter State Athletics Championship 2023 is taking place from 15th June to 19th June. Interested viewers can catch the live-coverage of the event on the official YouTube channel of the Athletic Federation of India.
