MP’s Samardeep Gill clinches shot put gold, qualifies for CWG at National Senior Athletics meet
Ranchi, May 25 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Madhya Pradesh’s 25-year-old shot putter Samardeep Singh Gill outclassed seasoned Punjab thrower Tajinderpal Singh Toor to clinch gold in the men’s shot put event and secure qualification for the Commonwealth Games on the final day of the 29th National Senior Athletics Federation Competition at Birsa Munda Stadium on Monday.
Two-time Asian Games champion Toor opened strongly with a throw of 20.07m, but Gill produced the decisive effort in his fourth attempt, registering 20.46m to move ahead and eventually seal the gold medal. Toor failed to recover the lead, managing 20.06m in his final attempt. Punjab’s Karanveer Singh finished third with 19.38m.
Gill also breached the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 20.36m.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, Karnataka’s Yashas P and NCOE Trivandrum athlete Santhosh Kumar T also booked Commonwealth Games berths after clocking below the qualification standard of 50.27 seconds. Yashas won gold in 49.00 seconds, while Santhosh Kumar finished a close second in 49.06 seconds. Navy’s Subhas Das took bronze with 50.51 seconds.
The men’s javelin title went to Maharashtra’s promising thrower Shivam Lohakare, who registered a best throw of 81.71m. Rajasthan’s Yashvir Singh claimed silver with 80.80m, while Railway Sports’ Rohit Yadav secured bronze with 80.40m. However, none of the competitors crossed the CWG qualification mark of 82.61m.
Odisha sprinter Animesh Kujur narrowly missed the Commonwealth Games qualification time in the men’s 200m, clocking 20.64 seconds against the required 20.61 seconds. Kerala’s Jishu Prasad finished second in 20.98 seconds, while Reliance athlete Abhay Singh came third in 21.01 seconds.
In the men’s 5,000m race, Karnataka’s Shivaji Parashuram won gold in 14:14.43 seconds ahead of Madhya Pradesh’s Vinod Singh, who clocked 14:15.50 seconds, and Uttarakhand’s Deepak Bhatt, who finished third in 14:17.72 seconds.
In the men’s 800m event, Haryana’s Krishan Kumar won gold in 1:47.68 seconds, followed by Maharashtra’s Prathamesh A in 1:47.97 seconds and Satyajeet S in 1:48.40 seconds.
The men’s triple jump saw JSW athlete Praveen Chithravel emerge victorious with a leap of 17.08m, surpassing the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 16.89m. Air Force jumper Abdulla Aboockar finished second with 16.63m, while Tamil Nadu’s Gailey Venister claimed bronze with 16.37m.
In the women’s section, Himachal Pradesh sprinter Kusum Thakur won the 200m title in 23.94 seconds. Haryana’s Tamana finished second in 24.06 seconds, narrowly ahead of Maharashtra’s Sudeshna H, who clocked 24.07 seconds.
Reliance athlete Seema clinched gold in the women’s 5,000m with a time of 16:04.83. Maharashtra’s Ravina Gayakwad took silver in 16:46.21, while IOCL’s Sonam Parmar finished third in 16:48.11
Tamil Nadu’s Vithya Ramraj won the women’s 400m hurdles in 56.61 seconds, ahead of NCOE Bengaluru’s Sinchal Kaveramma T (57.77 seconds) and Maharashtra’s Shravani Sachin (59.73 seconds).
In the women’s high jump, Uttar Pradesh athlete Khyati Mathur secured gold with a clearance of 1.82m. Railway Sports’ Manshi won silver with 1.80m, while JSW’s Abhinaya S Shetty took bronze with 1.73m.
Kerala’s Anamika KA emerged victorious in the women’s heptathlon with 5685 points. JSW athlete Pooja finished second with 5632 points, while Haryana’s Khushi claimed bronze with 5435 points.
In the women’s 800m, JSW’s Pooja won gold in 2:02.42, followed by IOCL runner Huidrom B in 2:05.56 and teammate Thota Sankeertana in 2:05.74.
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