CHANDIGAH, AUG 19 : Tamil Nadu snatched the overall trophy by logging 125 points in the 18th Federation Cup National Athletics Championships at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports Complex in Patiala this evening. Kerala finished overall runners-up by securing 121 points.
As the athletes from the southern states dominated the four-day programme, Tamil Nadu men grabbed the team trophy with 82 points while the runners-up trophy went to Oil and Natural Gas Commission with 65.5 points. Kerala won the women’s team championship with 57 points. ONGC obtained women’s runners-up trophy with 65.5 points.
Hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya and star 400m runner M.R. Poovamma (both
of ONGC) were adjudged the best athletes in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively,
The final day of the championships had 16 finals, some of them witnessed thrilling close contests, as the curtain rung down in the four day “Asian Games Trials”.
For high hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya the NIS track seems to be a favourite one as it was on the same venue he had set his first-ever national record in 13.81 secs, four years ago. Thereafter he improved it three times and dipped under that time at least 10 times! Siddhanth clocked 13.93 secs against a strong head-wind during the recent Commonwealth Games at Glasgow when finished third in his heats but fails
to qualify for the final. A perfect start helped the Maharashtrian, running under ONGC banner, equal his national mark of 13.65 secs which he earlier clocked when finished second in the Belgian national championships at Brussels in 2012.
Premkumar, representing Telangana, posted 13.96 secs for the silver Tamil
Nadu’s Surendhar timed 14.24s in third place.
As in men section the line-up for women’s 100m hurdles also seen a galaxy of strong athletes fight for the top spot. Tamil Nadu’s junior talent Deepika surged past ahead of her experienced compatriots right from the start. Having cleared the last hurdle together with K.V. Sajitha and M.M.
Anchu, Deepika lost her balance in the last few metres and had a nose-diving right across the finish-line. The photo-finish revealed Anchu taking the gold in 13.80 with Deepika settled in silver place just one hundredth of a second behind. Kerala’s Sajitha went home with a bronze medal in 13.86 secs.
In yet another close combat, Kerala quarter-miler Kunhu Mohammed pips
Tamil Nadu star Arokia Rajiv at the post 46.40 to 46.41 secs to win the
men’s 400m title. As expected M.R. Poovamma pockets the gold in women’s
race timing 52.42 secs. With three other women finishing under 54 seconds
the Indian athletes showed their readiness ready to repeat another golden
act in Asian Games at Incheon.
Two strong 200m finals in the evening had TN boy Manikanda Arumuguam
(21.21s) and Bengal girl Asha Roy (23.89s) clinched the top spots in men
and women sections respectively.
Fresh from his bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games, Arpinder Singh
overcame initial hiccups to win the triple jump in 16.70m. National
record-holder Renjith Maheswary (16.43m) and A.V. Rakesh Babu (16.15m)
settled with the minor places.
Rajasthan’s Delhi CWG gold medalist Krishna Poonia (32) ascertained her
position right from the first round in women’s discus throw to crown it in
56.84m from the world junior bronze medalist Navjeet Kaur Dhillon, he
hurled the disc to 53.26.
Another experienced athlete, 31-year-old O.P. Jaisha, representing hosts
Punjab state went on to clock a personal best 4:09.14 in women’s 1500m.
With Commonwealth and Asian bronze medals already in her kitty, Jaisha
revealed the distance runners have a long career than track-stars.
Incidentally her previous best of 4:11.83 came eight years ago! Kerala’s
Jinson Johnson had won the men’s title from a strong field in a
nondescript 3:52.60.
In the hammer throw, UP lad Chandrodaya Narayan Singh improved his meet
mark to 67.84m to win from arch-rival Kamalpreet Singh (66.78m).
Earlier in the morning, reigning Asian Games champion Preeja Sreedharn
took the women’s 10k title in 34:27.94 while former Asian junior double
gold medalist Rahul Kumar Pal snatched the men’s title in 30:04.77 just
ahead of Tamil Nadu’s G. Lakshmanan, who timed a close 30:05.20 in second
spot.
Hurdler Siddhanth Thingalaya and star 400m runner M.R. Poovamma (both
representing ONGC) have been declared as best athletes in their respective
divisions.
Overall team championship: 1 Tamil Nadu 125 pts, 2 Kerala 121 pts.
Men: Tamil Nadu 82, 2 Oil and Natural Gas Commission 65.5 pts.
Women: 1 Kerala 57 pts, 2 ONGC 55 pts.
Best athletes (team event performance points); Men: Siddanth Thingalaya, ONGC, 110mh 13.65 seconds. 1130 pts). Women: M.R. Poovamma (ONGC) 400 M 52.42 Sec 1110 pts.
Results: Women: 10,000m: 1 Preeja Sreedharan (Kerala) 34:27.94; 2. Swati Gadhave (Mah) 36:28.46; 3. Monika Athare (Mah) 36:44.15. 400m: 1 M R Poovamma (ONGC) 52.42; 2. Priyanka Panwar (UP) 53.40; 3. Debashree Majumdar (WB) 53.79. 200m: 1 Asha Roy (WB) 23.89; 2. Srabani Nanda (Ori) 24.02; 3. Archana (TN) 24.94. 100m Hurdles: 1. Anchu M.M (Jhar) 13.80; 2. Deepika (TN) 13.81; 3. Sajitha K V (Ker) 13.86. 1500m: 1. O.P. Jaisha (Punjab) 4:09.14; 2. Sini Ajith Markose (ONGC) 4:18.18; 3.Sushma Devi (Har) 4:20.43.Discus Throw: 1. Krishna Punia (Raj) 56.84m; 2. Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (ONGC) 53.26m; 3. Kumari Praveen (BSNL) 46.65m. 4x400m Relay: 1. ONGC (Jauja Murmu, Anju Rani, Mandeep Kaur, MR Poovamma) 3:42.26; 2. Kerala (Anu R, Anu Mariam Jose, Neethumol P Matew, Anilda Thomas) 3:45.96; 3. Haryana (Nirmala, Pooja, Shiksha Dagar, Rattandeep Kaur) 3:48.50. 4x100m Relay: 1. Kerala (Manju K, Neethu Mathew, Sini S, Merlin K Joseph), 2. West Bengal (Himashree Roy, Priyanka Mondal, Debashree Majumdar, Asha Roy) 46.56; 3. Punjab (Mandeep Kaur, Manvir Kaur, Krandeep Kaur, Mandeep Kaur) 47.27.