Three Indians showcased a common thread – their calm approach when handling pressure – to ensure that India would finish the second day of the Asian Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Bangkok on Thursday with a bigger collection of gold medals than in the last edition of the competition four years ago.
Jyothi Yarraji overcome a none-too-bright start to win the women’s 100m Hurdles, Ajay Kumar Saroj found a way through the crowd ahead of him as the runners started the final lap of the 1500m, and Abdulla Aboobacker kept the Tricolour flying in the men’s Triple Jump, an event in which Indians have done well in the past couple of years.
After Marimuthu Gomathi lost her gold to a doping violation, India finished the 2019 edition in Doha with two gold medals. With three golds in an evening, India has now placed itself in line for its best gold haul since 2005, when it won five. Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the shot-putter, and M Sreeshankar are expected to add to the collection in Bangkok.
Jyothi comes out of tough situation with flying colours
Jyothi went into the final as favourite and seemed in a good frame of mind despite the rain pelting down. But a delay ensued as China’s Wu Yanni was disqualified for a false start, and spent time trying to convince the starter to reinstate her. It seemed to make the 23-year-old from Andhra Pradesh a bit tense, leading to a hesitant start.
However, she took on the Japanese challenge with aplomb, lunging ahead of Asuka Terada and Masumi Aoki (Japan) to emerge winner. Having clocked 12.98 seconds in the heats in the morning, she showed that she was capable of running out a winner despite not producing her best race and being visibly dissatisfied until it sunk in that she had won gold.
The youngster who has made rapid strides in the event and caught the eye of the connoisseur and fan alike with her progress became the first Indian to win the women’s 100m Hurdles crown in the Asian Championships. Anuradha Biswal (2000) and J Hemasree (2013) preceded Jyothi to the podium, but they had each won bronze.
Ajay Kumar Saroj executes smart race tactics to be repeat winner of AAC 1500 gold
With a smart race, Ajay Kumar doubled India’s gold tally by becoming the first Indian to be a repeat winner of the 1500m gold at the continental championships. He wound his way through dense traffic and found the pace on the final lap to cruise home in 3:41.51. The training and competition in the United States have paid rich dividends.
For a long time in the race, he was stuck at the tail-end of the lead group but, at the bell, he went wide and stepped up his pace to move from eighth to third with half a lap to go. He waited for China’s Liu Dezhu to move past the leader Yusuke Takahashi (Japan) and then surged ahead when the Chinese moved closer to the kerb.
The 26-year-old Ajay Kumar, who hails from Prayagraj, had won the event in Bhubaneswar in 2017 when India last hosted the championships. He became the first Indian to be repeat a winner of the Asian Championships metric mile, an event that has seen the likes of Rattan Singh (1979), Suresh Yadav (1983), Bagicha Singh (1985) and Bahadur Prasad (1989) win gold for India.
Abdulla Aboobacker wins Triple Jump with a command show
In the absence of team-mates Praveen Chithravel and Eldhose Paul, Aboobacker was under pressure to deliver gold in the Triple Jump. The 27-year-old from Kerala did it in style, establishing his superiority after taking time to find his rhythm. He took the lead in the third round with a 16.54m effort and extended it to 16.92m to leave the others fighting for the other medals.
The Commonwealth Games silver medalist needed his best effort of the season to claim gold. It was his fourth-best performance and a satisfying one when viewed from how he handled the pressure. He became the third Indian to win the men’s Triple Jump in the Asian Championships after Mohinder Singh Gill (1973) and Renjith Maheshwary (2007).
Tejaswin Shankar marks Decathlon debut for India with a bronze medal
Tejaswin Shankar, who led the charts after seven events in the Decathlon, finished with a bronze medal after a disappointing time at the Pole Vault pit where he cleared the bar at the opening height of 3.80m but could not go higher. He held his place on the podium with career-best efforts in Javelin Throw (52.70m) and 1500m (4:35.03), to add to his best in Discus Throw (38.14m).
India’s other bronze came in the women’s 400m through Aishwarya Kailash Mishra, as the 25-year-old from Maharashtra earned her maiden international medal. She seemed in good position to be the first to break the beam, but Sri Lanka’s Nadeesha Ramanayaka and Uzbekistan’s Farida Solieva slipped past her over the final 50m or so.
The results (finals):
Men
400m: 1. Kentaro Sato (Japan) 45.00; 2. Fuga Sato (Japan) 45.13; 3. Masrahi Ahmed (Saudi Arabia) 45.19; 4. Muhammed Ajmal (India) 45.36; 6. Rajesh Ramesh (India) 45.67.
1500m: 1. Ajay Kumar Saroj (India) 3:41.51; 2. Yusuke Takahashi (Japan) 3:42.04; 3. Liu Dezhu (China) 3:42.30; 11. Jinson Johnson (India) 3:46.91.
Triple Jump: 1. Abdulla Aboobaker (India) 16.92m; 2. Hikaru Ikehata (Japan) 16.73; 3. Kim Jangwoo (Korea) 16.59.
Hammer Throw: 1. Qi Wang (China) 72.13m; 2. Sukhrob Khodjaev (Uzbekistan) 71.83; 3. Shota Fukuda (Japan) 71.80.
Decathlon: 1. Yuma Maryuma (Japan) 7745 points (100: 11.10; LJ: 7.30; SP: 13.70; HJ: 1.96; 400: 50.09; 110H: 14.18; DT: 40.19; PV: 4.50; JT: 56.68; 1500: 4:42.09); 2. Suttisaj Singkhon (Thailand) 7626; 3. Tejaswin Shankar (India) 7534 (100: 11.30; LJ: 7.48; SP: 12.39; HJ: 2.14; 400: 49.57; 110H: 14.75; DT: 38.14; PV: 3.80; JT: 52.70; 1500: 4:35.03).
Women
400m: 1. Nadeesha Ramanayaka (Sri Lanka) 52.61 seconds; 2. Farida Solieva (Uzbekistan) 52.95; 3. Asihwarya Kailash Mishra (India) 53.07.
10000m: 1. Haruka Kokai (Japan) 32:59.36; 2. Momoka Kawaguchi (Japan) 33:18.72; 3. Bayartsogt Munkhzaya (Mongolia) 33:24.79; 4. Sajivanio Baburao Jadhav (India) 34:04.47.
100m Hurdles: 1. Jyothi Yarraji (India) 13.09 seconds; 2. Asuka Terada (Japan) 13.13; 3. Masumi Aoki (Japan) 13.26; 4. Nithya Ramraj (India) 13.55.
High Jump: 1. Kristina Ovchinnikova (Kazakhstan) 1.86m; 2. Matveyeva Yelizaveta (Kazakhstan) 1.86; 3. Svetlana Radzivil (Uzbekistan) 1.83; 7. Rubina Yadav (India) and Pooja (India) 1.75.
Hammer Throw: 1. Jie Zhao (China) 69.39m; 2. Joy McArthur (Japan) 55.56; 3. Raika Murakami (Japan) 64.17.
Other results (Indians only)
100m Hurdles (first round): Jyothi Yarraji 12.98 seconds; Nithya Ramraj 13.53.