Dhanalakshmi beats Hima Das, breaks PT Usha's meet record at Federation Cup

Dhanalakshmi fared better than Hima Das throwing down the gauntlet with a scorching 23.26s in the 200m heats, a new meet record.

Running in the same heat as Hima Das, she pushed the more celebrated runner to a distant second in 24.39.

After three days of exciting competition, new national records and Olympic qualifications, Thursday was a sedate affair at the 24th Federation Cup barring a massive surge on track by Dhanalakshmi that obliterated a 23-year old meet record.

The Tamil Nadu youngster reiterated her determination to rewrite the record books and upset the big names in the competition, besting Hima Das and throwing down the gauntlet with a scorching 23.26s in the 200m heats, a new meet record to overhaul the 23-year old mark in P.T. Usha’s name.

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While her previous official best was 24.05 – more than half-a-second off Thursday’s pace -- she had done 23.47 in a state meet in January this year. Running in the same heat as Hima, she pushed the more celebrated runner to a distant second in 24.39. With Dutee Chand pulling out of the event earlier, it was expected to be a clash between the established star and the new kid and the final on Friday will be keenly watched.

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The results:

Men: 800m: Krishan Kumar (Har, 1:48.48), Ankesh Chaudhary (HP, 1:48.65), Anu Kumar (Utk, 1:49.25); Discus Throw: Kirpal Singh (Pun, 59.04m), Vazeer (Har, 56.40m), Abhinav (Har, 55.79m); Pole Vault: Parshant Kanhaiya (Har, 5.10m), Lakshay (Har, 5.05m), Anas EB (Ker, 4.90m).

Women: 800m: Chanda (Del, 2:02.57), Lili Das (WB, 2:02.98), MR Poovamma (Kar, 2:03.35); High Jump: Gracena G. Merly (TN, 1.84m), Rekha (Har, 1.75m), Giji George Stephen (TN, 1.70m); Triple Jump: Renu (Har, 13.39m), Aishwarya B (Kar, 13.16m), Aishwarya R (TN, 13.05m); Hammer Throw: Sarita Singh (UP, 56.62m), Jyoti Jakhar (Har, 54.97m), Rekha Singh (Utk, 54.04m); Heptathlon: Swapna Barman (WB, 5636 pts), Mareena George (Ker, 5516), Sonu Kumari (Har, 5050).