Asian Athletics Championships Day One: As it happened

Annu Rani won a silver medal while Parul Choudhary landed a bronze medal in the women's javelin throw and 5000m respectively. Meanwhile, Dutee Chand was the fastest qualifier as she clocked 11.28s in the heats, breaking her own national record of 11.29s set in Guwahati last year.

Annu Rani of India competes in her Javelin throw final during the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha on Sunday.

Annu Rani and Parul Choudhary bagged medals at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha on Sunday.

Annu Rani won the silver medal in the women's javelin throw with a distance of 60.22m. China's Huihui Lyu bagged the gold with a distance of 65.83m,  breaking the championship record in the process.

Sharmila Kumar finished seventh with a distance of 54.48m.

Meanwhile, Parul Choudhary finished third in the women's 5000m with a time of 15:36.03, landing a bronze medal for the country.

Bahraini athletes Winfred Mutile Yavi and Bontu Rebitu won the gold and silver medals respectively. Sanjivani Baburao Jadhav finished fourth with a time of 15:41.12.

DUTEE BREAKS NATIONAL RECORD

Dutee Chand broke her own national record as she qualified for the women’s 100m semifinal in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships at the Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, on Sunday.

Dutee was the fastest qualifier as she clocked 11.28s in the heats, breaking her own national record of 11.29s set in Guwahati last year.

However, there was a big setback for the Indian team with junior World champion and Asian Games silver medallist Hima Das failing to finish the women’s 400m semifinal. The 19-year-old suffered back pain and pulled out halfway through the race. Hima is also the national record holder with 50.79s clocked in the Jakarta Asiad last year.

POOVAMMA BAGS BRONZE

M.R. Poovamma brought another bronze, in the women’s 400 clocking 53.21s. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the World Championships silver medallist and Asiad champion, won the gold in 51.34s while Kazakhstan’s Elina Mikhina took the silver in 53.19. Poovamma had clocked a faster 52.46s in the morning’s semifinal.

Tamil Nadu’s Arokia Rajiv and defending champion Muhammed Anas of Kerala entered the men’s 400m final. Rajiv won his heats in 45.96s while Anas was fifth in his group with 46.10s but still made the cut.

JINSON IN SEMIFINAL, GOMATHI IN FINAL

Jinson Johnson progressed to the men’s 800m semifinal as he finished second behind host Qatar’s Jamal Hairane, clocking 1:53.43.

Meanwhile, Gomathi Marimuthu entered the women’s 800m final as she finished second in her heats, clocking 2:04.96s.

Praveen Chithravel moved to the men’s triple jump final after finishing ninth in the qualification round with 15.66m. China’s Zhu Yaming, who produced an indoor 17.35m back home in February, led the qualifiers with 16.52m.

ARPITA AND GAYAKWAD IN FINAL

In the 400m hurdles, Arpitha M clocked 58.20 seconds, finishing second in her heats. Saritaben Gayakwad also finished second in her heats, clocking a time of 58.17 seconds.

Meanwhile, in the men's 400m hurdles. Jabir M P finished fourth with a time of 50.15 seconds. All three have qualified for the finals in their respective event categories.