Record players Praveen, Animesh steal show

KOCHI: The concluding day of the 28th National Federation cup athletic meet here witnessed some exciting action. Praveen Chitravel and Animesh Kujur shone the brightest, putting up record-breaking performances in their respective events. JSW's Praveen, who's from Tamil Nadu, captured gold in the men's triple jump, with a record-equalling effort while Animesh, an athlete from Odisha,  stormed to victory in the men's 200m to raise the national bar in the men's 200m race.

Praveen was given a tough competition by fellow Olympian Abdulla Aboobacker from Kerala who is representing JSW. Praveen opened with a 16.66m effort before improving to 16.87m in his second. Aboobacker, representing Air Force, did better as he covered a distance of 16.99m in his second jump, thereby matching the meet record set by Eldhose Paul. However, Praveen responded in an emphatic manner, touching an impressive 17.37m in his third effort. In the process, he matched his own national record and also set the meet record. Both the athletes attained qualification mark for the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi (South Korea) next month. Praveen was naturally stoked with the day's outcome and sounded hopeful of going higher. "I'm feeling really happy that I am back. This is only the beginning of the season, I hope to cross 17.50m in the upcoming World Championship," said Praveen. "It's only two of us jumping more than 17m in India right now, while it is a huge competition outside. I will keep pushing." Mohammed Muhassin (also of JSW), with an effort of 16.28m, finished behind the duo.

The men's 200m race was as competitive with Animesh edging Amlan Borgohain. Animesh clocked 20.40 seconds, breaking Amlan's national record and meet record of 20.52s, which was set in Calicut in 2022. "The morning's heats timing gave me good confidence and that resulted in a good performance in the finals," said Animesh. Tamil Nadu’s Ragul Kumar G finished third. The top-four athletes finished within 21 seconds.

The women's long jump was equally enticing with Uttar Pradesh's Shaili Singh claiming the top honours. The 21-year-old had a best effort of 6.64m, a mark that helped her break the meet record set by Anju Bobby George. Shaili attained qualification for Asian meet. Ancy Sojan E and Moumita Mondal (both representing Reliance) finished second and third, respectively. Ancy's best was 6.46m while Moumita's top jump was 6.45m.

Nithya Gandhe, meanwhile, completed a double in the championship. The Telangana athlete captured the top prize in the women's 200m finals with an effort of 23.68s. Angel Silvia M of Tamil Nadu won silver while V Sudheeksha of Karnataka bagged bronze.

Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand bagged the gold in 800m while Krishan Kumar of Haryana won silver. In the women's 800m, Twinkle Chaudhary of Reliance was the best performer (2:00.71s), setting a meet record and qualifying for Asian meet in the process. Javelin ace Annu Rani bagged gold with a best throw of 56.66m. Madhya Pradesh's Amardeep Singh won the gold in the men's javelin event.

Results: Men: 200m (Asian Q time 20.53s): Animesh Kujur (Odi) 20.40s (NR. Previous NR 20.52s), Amlan Borgohain (Rel) 20.80s, Ragul Kumar G (TN) 20.85s; 800m (Asian Q 1:47.77s): Anu Kumar (Ukd) 1:47.78, Krishan Kumar (Har) 1:47.94, Shakeel (Raj) 1:48.16; 5,000m (Asian Q 13:48.33): Abhishek Pal (Railways) 13:40.59, Sawan Barwal (Army) 13:41.58, Kiran Matre (Army) 13:47.16; Triple jump (Asian Q 16.59m): Praveen Chithravel (JSW) 17.37m (MR record 16.99m), Abdulla Aboobacker (IAF) 16.99m, Mohammed M (JSW) 16.28m; Shot put (Asian Q 19.10m): Samardeep Singh Gill (MP) 19.34m, Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Pun) 18.77m, Aniket (Ukd) 17.89m; Decathlon: Tejaswin Shankar (Delhi) 7603 points (MR), Yamandeep S (Rel) 7226 points, Jashbir Nayak (Odi) 7156 points; Women: 200m (Asian Q 23.39s): Nithya Gandhe (Tel) 23.68s, Angel Silvia M (TN) 23.91s, V Sudheeksha (Kar) 24.31s; 800m (Asian Q 2:05.00): Twinkle Chaudhary (Rel) 2:00.71 (MR), Pooja (Har) 2:02.89, Amandeep Kaur (Pun) 2:03.69; 5,000m (Asian Q 16:03.33): Sanjivani Jadhav (Mah) 15:43.42, Seema (HP) 16:17.07, Anjali Devi (Har) 16:25.78; Javelin (Asian Q 58.00m) Anu Rani (UP) 56.66m, Karishma S Sanil (Kar) 52.73m, Ramyashree Jain (Kar) 51.17m; High jump (Asian Q 1.83m): Pooja (Har) 1.84m, Gobika K (TN) 1.82m, Abhinaya S Shetty (Kar) 1.80m; Long jump (Asian Q 6.41m): Shaili Singh (UP) 6.64m (MR), Ancy Sojan (Rel) 6.46m, Moumita Mondal (Rel) 6.45m; Hammer throw: (Asian Q 64.17m): Harshita Sehrawat (Rel) 61.65m, Tanya Chaudhary (UP) 60.32m, Mital Solanki (Guj) 50.17m.