The Hindu : Sport / Athletics : Kerala is overall champion

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Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

Sport

Sport - Athletics

Kerala is overall champion

By Our Special Correspondent

VIJAYAWADA, DEC. 22. Kerala marched to its eighth triumph when it claimed the overall championship in the ONGC junior National athletic meet which concluded at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation stadium here on Wednesday.

Kerala's medal tally was more than twice its nearest rival Tamil Nadu's. The defending champion had 30 golds, 23 silvers and 13 bronzes, while Tamil Nadu had 11-15-14. Haryana was third with 11-10-10 and host Andhra Pradesh fourth (10-5-6).

In terms of individual achievement, Kavita Raut of Maharashtra towered over the rest, claiming the junior women's 1500m, 3000m and 5000m golds. The five hours of practice she puts in every day were not in vain and coach Vijayendra Singh felt her display would have been better if the track had not worn out so much.

The Kerala juggernaut continued to roll, its dominance most pronounced in the women's sprint and middle distance events. In the 4x400m relay, Diana John Selven opened the charge, establishing a three-metre lead for A. Vijila. The latter doubled the margin in the second lap and Sherin Thomas consolidated more in the next. Rounding off the race, Jasmin Joseph, winner of the quarter-mile, displayed her class, touching the tape about 20 metres ahead.

In contrast, the Kerala under-18 girls' squad showed initial gusto, Seeniya Thomas and Maria James breaking free to the fore. They were, however, tired by the straight, conceding the lead they toiled to set up. Frency Thomas rose to the challenge, at first erasing the deficit and then leaving the competition in her wake. When she brought the baton in, Kerala had a seven metre lead. Geetha Roby, with her steady striding, ensured that she'd give no quarter and closed out the race with a 10-metre plus gap.

Shijila, the sprint queen

Earlier, V.D. Shijila established herself as the unchallenged sprint queen by winning the 200m in 24.87 seconds. Pavneet Kaur of Delhi was second in 25.67. Everything went Shijila's way right from the start in this race.

Sivadasan Arunjith walked away quite nonchalantly after the boys' under 18 200m final, finding the photographers running after AP's Ramachandra for his picture. The photo finish, however, gave Arunjith the gold.

The points position:

Boys: 1. Kerala 305, 2. Tamil Nadu 185, 3. Karnataka 113; Girls: 1. Kerala 187, 2. Haryana 154, 3. U.P. 153.

Medals tally: 1. Kerala 30-23-13, 2. T.N. 11-15-14, 3. Haryana 11-10-10,

4. AP 10-5-6, 5. U.P. 8-10-12, 6. Karnataka 8-7-11, 7. Delhi 5-8-4 and 8. Punjab 4-4-9.

The results:

Junior men: 200m: 1. Mohd. Muddassir (Kar) 22.04s, 2. Ahmed (Ker), 3. R. Vijay Kumar (TN); 800m: 1. R. Rajeev (Ker) 1:52.41, 2. Jai Prakash (Utt), 3. Nirvair Singh (Pun); 4x400m relay: 1. Kerala 3:18.87, 2. Karnataka, 3. Tamil Nadu; 10,000m: 1. Gopal Singh (Utt) 32:19.63, 2. Manoj Kumar (U.P.), 3. Ajai Kumar Patel (U.P.); 3000m steeplechase: 1. Vikas Singh (U.P.) 9:35.09, 2. Prakash Singh (Raj), 3. Shir Poojan Bind (U.P.); Hammer: 1. K. Sathishwaran (TN) 62.22m, 2. Shanawas Khan (U.P.), 3. Manoj (Har).

Boys: Under-18: 200m: 1. S. Arunjith (Ker) 22.71s, 2. V. P. Ramachandra (AP), 3. Amit Kumar Sharma (Bih); 800m: 1. K. Bangaraiah (AP) 1:54.94, 2. Ramjan Khan (Raj), 3. Amit Kumar Mishra (U.P.); Javelin: 1. Samarjit Singh (Raj) 62.22m, 2. Javed Ahmed (U.P.), 3. Dipak Ghorpade (Mah); Pole vault: 1. Suresh Kumar (U.P.) 1.96m, 2. S. Virendran (TN), 3. Rajesh Kaurahana (Har) and Ajay Pal Singh (Pun) 1.93 m; 2,000m steeplechase: 1.Th. Sanjit Luwang (Man) 6:05.84, 2. Sanaram Tiria (Ori), 3. Naresh Kumar (Bih); 4x400m relay: 1. Kerala 3:19.75, 2. Punjab, 3. Haryana; Heptathlon: 1. Safina Khatun 3789 points (Ben), 2. Shilpa Sundar 3523 (Kar), 3. V. Mani 3079 (TN).

Under-16: 800m: 1. Ajeet Kumar (U.P.) 1:59.57, 2. Anand Kujur (Jha); Long jump: 1. P. K. Anoop (Ker) 6.53m, 2. S. Raja Kumar (TN), 3. Sudershan Chatria (Ori); Discus: 1. Amit (Har) 49.35m, 2. Navin (Har), 3. Manish Kumar Singh (U.P.); Medley relay: 1. Kerala 2:01.86 (NMR, Old: 2:03.18 by Jharkhand at Kollam 2003), 2. Haryana, 3. Karnataka.

Junior women: 200m: 1. V. D. Shijila (Ker) 24.87s, 2. Pavneet Kaur (Del), 3. B. Bindhu (Ker); 800m: 1. K. V. Rajimol (Ker) 2:13.98, 2. Sherin Thomas (Ker), 3. Iqbal Kaur (Pun); 3,000m: 1. Kavita Raut (Mah) 10:07.36, 2. Sudha Singh (U.P.), 3. B. S. Veena (Kar); 4x400m relay: 1. Kerala 3:52.19, 2. TN, 3. U.P.; Heptathlon: 1. D. Karpula Mala 4049 points (TN), 2. Pradhya Patil 3958 (Mah), 3. C. Dhayalini 3854 (TN); Pole vault: 1. Saritha Kumari (Ker) 2.90m, 2. Babli Mitra (Ben), 3. Priyanka Jose (Ker); Shot put: 1. G. Sree Keerthi (AP) 11.61m, 2. Ponny Jose (Ker), 3. Sowmya Joseph (Ker); Hammer: 1. Y. Prem Latha (Mah) 46.15m, 2. Sukanya Misra (U.P.), 3. Deepika Handa (Pun); High jump: 1. A. Amuda (TN) 1.65m, 2. Aswathy S. (Ker), 3. P. Mohana Priya (TN).

Girls: Under-18: 200m: 1. K. Mrudula (AP) 25.64s, 2. Sabina Khatun (Ben), 3. Komal (Del); 3,000m: 1. Prabhavathi (AP) 10:27.60, 2. Indira B.E. (Kar), 3. Manisha Salunkhe (Mah); 800m: 1. Jhuma Khatun (Ben) 2:15.72, 2. S. Dhivya (TN), 3. Sangeeta Yadav (U.P.); 4x400m relay: 1. Kerala 3:56.27, 2. TN, 3. AP; Long jump: 1. P. K. Anoop (Ker) 6.53m, 2. S. Raja Kumar; Javelin: 1. Neesha Rani (Har) 38.65m, 2. P. Asha Mary (AP), 3. Neha Thakur (Del).

Under-16: 800m: 1. G. Harathi (AP) 2:15.82 (NMR, old: 2:16.83 by Bindu S.R. of Kerala at Kollam, 2003) 2. Bindu S.R. (Ker), 3. Anu Mariyam Jose (Ker); Medley relay: 1. Kerala 2:19.90, 2. Karnataka, 3. TN; Long jump: 1. Natasha Sagar (Kar) 5.65m, 2. Pallavi Sukumar (Kar), 3. Liksy Joseph (Ker); Discus: 1. Ankita Julka (Del) 38.95m, 2. Rinku Sangwan (Har), 3. A. Anitcham (TN).

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