Athletics
World Athletics C'ships: Avinash, Shaili, Triple jumpers disappoint on Day 1
The first day of the World Athletics Championships ended with disappointment as none of the Indian triple jumpers qualified for the final.
Triple jumpers Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul, and Abdulla Aboobacker failed to qualify for the final of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Saturday, ending a disappointing first day for India.
The qualification standard was set at 17.15m, or the best twelve performers go through to the final. Abdulla came the closest as he finished 15th with a jump of 16.61m, while Praveen Chithravel ended at the 20th spot with his best effort of 16.38m.
Eldhose, on the other hand, failed to cross the 16m mark and managed just 15.59m - far below his season-best effort of 16.75m, finishing 29th.
In the 1500m heat, Asian Champion Ajay Kumar Saroj recorded a personal best timing of 3:38.24s but failed to qualify for the final after finishing 13th in the heat.
The start of the first day was not ideal for India, as Avinash Sable failed to qualify for the final of the 3000m steeplechase after he finished seventh in Heat 1, clocking 8:22.24s.
This is the first time that Sable has failed to qualify for the finals in World Championships after three appearances. He finished 11th in Eugene last year and 13th in 2019 in Doha.
National record holder Sable started brilliantly and also led the race briefly. A tumble in the last water hurdle proved fatal for the runner from Maharashtra.
Only the top five finishers in the three heats make it to the final round. Sable was expected to at least make it to the final, if not win a medal.
Meanwhile, long jump prodigy Shaili Singh failed to qualify for the final, as she finished 14th out of 18 competing athletes in the Group B qualification round with a best effort of 6.40m.
The 19-year-old finished 24th overall in the combined result of the two qualification groups as athletes clearing 6.80m earned a direct qualification.
National record holder Akashdeep Singh finished last (47th) in the men's 20km race walk, while Vikash Singh finished at the 28th spot and Paramjit Singh 35th.
Akashdeep was 12 minutes behind his national record as he finished the race in 1 hour 31 minutes 12 seconds. His national record stands at a timing of 1:19:55s.
Sarvesh Anil Kushare and Santhosh Kumar Tamilasaran will take part in the high jump and 400m hurdles qualification rounds respectively on Sunday.
