Jyothi Yarraji and Tejaswin Shankar put their best foot forward to qualify for the 2023 Asian Games in the women's 100m hurdles and men's decathlon respectively at the ongoing National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2023 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
It was an eventful day with 12 athletes across all disciplines qualified for the Hangzhou Games later this year.
Yarraji bagged the gold medal with a timing of 12.92s, while Nithya R (13.48) and Agasara Nandini (13.55) clinched silver and bronze, respectively. All three athletes secured their ticket to China as they breached the qualification mark of 13.63s set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
Despite fumbling on the third hurdle, Yarraji clinched the top but was not fully content with her performance.
“I wanted to break the 12.90 seconds barrier. But I fumbled at the third hurdle, which spoiled my rhythm and I missed my goal today,” Jyothi said.
Double for Jyothi Yarraji. The 100m champion wins 100m hurdles gold today.
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) June 17, 2023
62nd national inter state senior athletics championship pic.twitter.com/n9aS6eiKuz
Meanwhile, Shankar amassed 7576 points in the men’s decathlon to breeze past the qualification mark of 7500 points.
Tejaswin Shankar scores 7576 points to win decathlon title and qualify for Asian Games.
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) June 17, 2023
62nd national inter state senior athletics championship.
Whereas, Commonwealth Games medallists Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker along with India’s national record holder Praveen Chithravel surpassed the AFI's entry standard of 16.60m in the men's triple jump event.
MORE: Why are athletes struggling at the Inter-State Championships?
Chithravel won gold with a leap of 17,07 m but could not better her own record of 17.37m achieved in Cuba a few months earlier. Aboobacker gave his season-best to achieve a score of 16.88m while Paul stood third with 16.75m.
In women’s heptathlon, Swapna Barman of West Bengal, reigned supreme as she collected 5918 points from seven events to comfortably surpass the entry standard of 5654 points for the Asian Games. Agasara Nandini will accompany her to China as she scored 5654 points but bronze medallist Sowmiya Muruguan failed to make the cut with 5323 points.
Pole vaulter, Pavithra Venkatesh broke the meet record with a leap of 4.10m and also qualified for Asian Games. Meanwhile, en’s high jumpers Sarvesh Anil Kushare and Jesse Sandesh also qualified for the continental meet with jumps of 2.24m each.
Triple treat in Bhubaneswar 🥇🥈🥉
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) June 17, 2023
1) Praveen Chithravel: 17.07m
2) Abdulla Aboobacker: 16.88m
3) Eldhose Paul: 16.75m
All THREE #TeamIIS Triple Jumpers qualify for the Asian Games! #InterState #Athletics #CraftingVictories 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/W4BqV79aOS
Key results (finals) from Day 3
Men’s 110m hurdles: Tejas Ashok Shirse (Maharashtra) 13.87 secs, Sachin Binu (Kerala) 13.99 secs, Ronald Babu (Madhya Pradesh) 14.24 secs.
Men’s high jump: Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) 2.24m, Jesse Sandesh (Karnataka) 2.24m, Bharathi Viswanathan (Tamil Nadu) 2.17m
Men’s triple jump: Praveen Chithravel (Tamil Nadu) 17.07m, Abdulla Aboobacker (Kerala) 16.88m, Eldhose Paul (Kerala) 16.75m.
Men’s hammer throw: Taranveer Singh Bains (Punjab) 68.07m, Nitesh Poonia (Rajasthan) 67.10m, Damneet Singh (Punjab) 65.86m.
Decathlon: Tejaswin Shankar (Delhi) 7576 points, Yamandeep Sharma (Rajasthan) 7165points, Gokul Sharma (Kerala) 6937 points
Women’s 100m hurdles: Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh) 12.92 secs, Nithya R (Tamil Nadu) 13.48 secs, Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 13.55 secs.
Women’s pole vault: Pavithra Venkatesh (Tamil Nadu) 4.10m, Sindhushree G (Karnataka)3.80m, Vanshika Ghanghas (Haryana) 3.40m.
Heptathlon: Swapna Barman (Madhya Pradesh) 5918 points, Agasara Nandini (Telangana) 5703 points, Sowmiya Murugan (Andhra Pradesh) 5323 points.
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