Panchkula (Haryana), the Indian 4x400m mixed relay team failed in its bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics despite setting a national record, as it missed the target time by exactly one second on the last day of the National Interstate Championship here on Sunday. .
India fielded two teams, A and B, in the 400m mixed relay event, in which Sri Lanka and Maldives were also invited by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for times to be counted for qualification purposes. world.
Three national teams are needed for an event to be international. The Indian team's goal was to clock 3:11.87 to surpass Kenya (3:11.88) and take 16th and last place. But India's quartet of Muhammed Anas, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Muhammed Ajmal and Kiran Pahal clocked 3:12.87 to win the race.
In the process, the Indian team erased the previous national record of 3:14.12 seconds that was recorded at the Asian Relay in Bangkok in May.
Interestingly, Kiran, who won the 400m individual by beating the Olympic qualifying time of 50.95 seconds, was named in the Indian team, although she trains alone outside the national camp. The AFI has a well-known policy that relay teams They will be chosen only among national campers.
India's B team of T Santosh, Vithya Ramraj, Amoj Jacob and Subha Venkatesan came second in 3:14.22.
Sri Lanka finished third in 3:18.18, while Maldives finished in eighth and last position in 3:44.98. The failure of the Indian 4x400m mixed relay team to reach Paris will be a disappointment to the AFI. Both the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams have already qualified for the Olympic Games.
In other events, Olympics-bound Kishore Jena was pushed to third place in the men's javelin throw competition, won by Haryana's Sahil Silwal with a throw of 81.81m.
Odisha's Vikrant Malik was second with 81.74m, while Jena won bronze with a second-round throw of 80.84m. Asian Games silver medalist Jena, who has a personal best of 87.54 m, was relieved to regain his confidence with the 80-plus throw after the horrendous 75.49m effort at the Fed Cup in May.
She also revealed that she was dealing with mild pain in her left ankle that she felt after the Federation Cup (May 15-19) in Bhubaneswar.
"I felt pain in the ankle of my left leg (locked leg) after the Federation Cup but I couldn't specify when it happened. We consulted a doctor who told me not to worry. We reduced the load a little, did recovery exercises and" The pain has reduced and almost everything is fine now. Still, I didn't try my best today," said Jena, representing Odisha. "I feel relieved to have bowled 80-plus again after the Federation Cup. "I feel like I'm getting my rhythm back and I hope to do well in the Diamond League in Paris on July 7 and then go to the Olympics."
Star athlete Jyothi Yarraji, representing Andhra Pradesh, clocked 13.06 seconds to win the women's 100m hurdles, while Odisha's Pragyan Sahu (13.15) and Tamil Nadu's Nithya Ramraj (13.21) bagged silver and bronze respectively.
Yarraji's national record is 12.78 seconds, while the Olympic Games qualification time is 12.77. But she is ready to book her ticket to the Paris Games through a quota in the world rankings. Yarraji said she has recovered from the minor hip flexor injury she suffered while running in a competition in Finland in May and who is eager to go to Paris.
"I'm strong, I'm fit and I'll do my best (at the Olympics)," she said later.
"In Finland, due to the imbalance in the last race, I felt pain in the hip area. I returned to India and had an MRI done. Now I am fit and can give my best in the next event," he said, giving credit to his coach James Hillier for his great performance this season. Another national record holder, Tejas Shirse, took gold in the men's 110 meters hurdles, with a time of 13.54 seconds.
The Olympic qualification time is 13.27 seconds while his national record stands at 13.41.
"Seven months ago, I never thought about trying to qualify for the Olympics. This season has been great for me. I achieved the national record but I couldn't achieve my second goal of beating the Olympic qualifying time," Shirse said. "This event is very technical and I need time to mature in the game and as a person.
Animesh Kujur and Srabani Nanda, both from Odisha, won gold in the men's and women's 200 meters, clocking 20.65 seconds and 23.89 seconds respectively.
In the men's triple jump, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Abdulla Aboobacker of Kerala beat national record holder Praveen Chithravel to gold with a best effort of 17 metres. Tamil Nadu's Chithravel, whose national record is 17.37m, came second with 16.98m.
India fielded two teams, A and B, in the 400m mixed relay event, in which Sri Lanka and Maldives were also invited by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for times to be counted for qualification purposes. world.
Three national teams are needed for an event to be international. The Indian team's goal was to clock 3:11.87 to surpass Kenya (3:11.88) and take 16th and last place. But India's quartet of Muhammed Anas, Jyothika Sri Dandi, Muhammed Ajmal and Kiran Pahal clocked 3:12.87 to win the race.
In the process, the Indian team erased the previous national record of 3:14.12 seconds that was recorded at the Asian Relay in Bangkok in May.
Interestingly, Kiran, who won the 400m individual by beating the Olympic qualifying time of 50.95 seconds, was named in the Indian team, although she trains alone outside the national camp. The AFI has a well-known policy that relay teams They will be chosen only among national campers.
India's B team of T Santosh, Vithya Ramraj, Amoj Jacob and Subha Venkatesan came second in 3:14.22.
Sri Lanka finished third in 3:18.18, while Maldives finished in eighth and last position in 3:44.98. The failure of the Indian 4x400m mixed relay team to reach Paris will be a disappointment to the AFI. Both the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams have already qualified for the Olympic Games.
In other events, Olympics-bound Kishore Jena was pushed to third place in the men's javelin throw competition, won by Haryana's Sahil Silwal with a throw of 81.81m.
Odisha's Vikrant Malik was second with 81.74m, while Jena won bronze with a second-round throw of 80.84m. Asian Games silver medalist Jena, who has a personal best of 87.54 m, was relieved to regain his confidence with the 80-plus throw after the horrendous 75.49m effort at the Fed Cup in May.
She also revealed that she was dealing with mild pain in her left ankle that she felt after the Federation Cup (May 15-19) in Bhubaneswar.
"I felt pain in the ankle of my left leg (locked leg) after the Federation Cup but I couldn't specify when it happened. We consulted a doctor who told me not to worry. We reduced the load a little, did recovery exercises and" The pain has reduced and almost everything is fine now. Still, I didn't try my best today," said Jena, representing Odisha. "I feel relieved to have bowled 80-plus again after the Federation Cup. "I feel like I'm getting my rhythm back and I hope to do well in the Diamond League in Paris on July 7 and then go to the Olympics."
Star athlete Jyothi Yarraji, representing Andhra Pradesh, clocked 13.06 seconds to win the women's 100m hurdles, while Odisha's Pragyan Sahu (13.15) and Tamil Nadu's Nithya Ramraj (13.21) bagged silver and bronze respectively.
Yarraji's national record is 12.78 seconds, while the Olympic Games qualification time is 12.77. But she is ready to book her ticket to the Paris Games through a quota in the world rankings. Yarraji said she has recovered from the minor hip flexor injury she suffered while running in a competition in Finland in May and who is eager to go to Paris.
"I'm strong, I'm fit and I'll do my best (at the Olympics)," she said later.
"In Finland, due to the imbalance in the last race, I felt pain in the hip area. I returned to India and had an MRI done. Now I am fit and can give my best in the next event," he said, giving credit to his coach James Hillier for his great performance this season. Another national record holder, Tejas Shirse, took gold in the men's 110 meters hurdles, with a time of 13.54 seconds.
The Olympic qualification time is 13.27 seconds while his national record stands at 13.41.
"Seven months ago, I never thought about trying to qualify for the Olympics. This season has been great for me. I achieved the national record but I couldn't achieve my second goal of beating the Olympic qualifying time," Shirse said. "This event is very technical and I need time to mature in the game and as a person.
Animesh Kujur and Srabani Nanda, both from Odisha, won gold in the men's and women's 200 meters, clocking 20.65 seconds and 23.89 seconds respectively.
In the men's triple jump, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Abdulla Aboobacker of Kerala beat national record holder Praveen Chithravel to gold with a best effort of 17 metres. Tamil Nadu's Chithravel, whose national record is 17.37m, came second with 16.98m.
