KOCHI: Maharashtra’s Sanjivani Jadhav, the World University Games 10,000m silver medallist last year, won the women’s bronze in the 14th Asian Cross Country Championships at Guiyang, China, on Thursday.
Sanjivani’s performance in the 8km event also helped India finish third in the women’s team championship. The women’s field had another prominent Indian, Lalita Babar, who was making a comeback to the international circuit after marriage, and the Olympian finished 15th.
Lalita came up with India’s best performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase.
National champion Shankar Man Thapa (Services), with ninth, was the best finisher in the men’s event while Ajay K. Bhind was 10th in the junior men’s section.
In the junior women’s category, there were two Indians in the top-ten, including Poonam Sonune who was sixth.
The results (top three and Indian performances):
Men (12km): 1. Peng Jianhua (Chn) 38:22s; 2. Nishiyama Kazuya (Jpn) 38:26; 3. Imanshi Siunsuke (Jpn) 38:28; 9. Shankar Man Thapa (Ind) 39:48; 11. Pradeep Singh Chaudhary (Ind) 40:03; 14. Arjun Kumar (Ind) 40:17; 15. Ratti Ram Saini (Ind) 40:39.
Team championship: 1. Japan; 2. China; 2. Iran; 4. India.
Junior men (8km): 1. Suolang Cairen (Chn) 25:35; 2. Yuhi Nakaya (Jpn) 25:39; 3. Tazawa Ren (Jpn) 25:42; 10. Ajay K. Bhind (Ind) 27:01; 11. Shyam (Ind) 27:24; 15. Bahadur Patel (Ind) 28:25.
Team championship: 1. Japan; 2. China; 3. Iran.
Women (8km): 1. Li Dan (Chn) 28:03; 2. Abe Yukari (Jpn) 28:06; 3. Sanjivani B. Jadhav (Ind) 28:19; 11. Swati Gadhave (Ind) 30:18; 14. Jhuma Khatum (Ind) 32:14; 15. Lalita S. Babar (Ind) 32:53.
Team championship: 1. Japan; 2. China; 3. India.
Junior women (6km): 1. Wada Yuna (Jpn) 20:43; 2. Hironaka Ririka (Jpn) 20:45; 3. Takamatsu Tomomi Musembi (Jpn) 20:48; 6. Poonam D. Sonune (Ind) 22:45; 10. Prabhjot Kaur (Ind) 28:59.
Team championship: 1. Japan; 2. China.