Athletics
World Athletics C'ships: Sarvesh Kushare, Santhosh Kumar disappoint on Day 2
High Jumper Sarvesh Anil Kushare and hurdler Santhosh Kumar failed go beyond heats on second day of World Athletics Championships.
Anil Sarvesh Kushare won an impressive silver medal in High Jump (Screenshot)
Indian athletes continued their disappointing run at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, as Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan (400m hurdles) and Sarvesh Anil Kushare (High Jump) crashed out of their qualification round on Sunday.
Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist Sarvesh failed to clear 2.25m in three attempts and finished 11th in his qualification group and 20th overall. The criteria for direct qualification was 2.30m or 12 best performers from both qualification groups.
In men's 400m hurdles, Santhosh finished third in his heat, with a timing of 50.46 seconds, and seventh in the overall standings. He failed to qualify as the top four finishers from each of the five heats, and the other four fastest athletes made the cut for the semifinals.
Out of the 27 Indian athletes in the World Championships, 11 athletes have already either failed to qualify or performed poorly in their respective events.
On the opening day of the competition, India registered a disastrous performance, with national record holder Avinash Sable failing to qualify for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechaser. Sable made a disappointing seventh place finish in his heat in a shocking result.
In the men's 20km race walk, too, Akashdeep Singh, Vikash Singh, and Paramjeet Singh could not impress, making 47th, 28th, and 35th finishes, respectively.
19-year-old Shaili Singh, making her World Championships debut, could leap only 6.40m in women's long jump. However, she could not make the cut in the final, as 6.80m was the cut off mark.
The only bright spot in India's muted show was Ajay Kumar Saroj, who recorded a new personal best effort of 3 minutes 38.24 seconds in men's 1500m heats. But it was not enough for Ajay to qualify for the semifinals. Meanwhile, none of India's three triple jumpers - Praveen Chithravel, Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker - could make it to the medal round.
Jyothi Yarraji and Krishan Kumar are the next Indians who will feature in women's 100m hurdles heat and men's 800m heat, respectively, on August 22.
