Indian Grand Prix-1: Good start for M. R. Poovamma

Delhi’s K. R. Chanda clocks personal best, takes gold in 800m; Arokia Rajiv wins 200m.

M. R. Poovamma bagged the 400m title. - SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The seasoned M. R. Poovamma stayed steady and won the women’s 400m comfortably but there were some big surprises in the Indian Grand Prix-1, the national athletics season-opener for seniors, in Patiala on Thursday.

The 30-year-old Asian bronze medallist defeated fellow-national camper Kiran Pahal, 10 years her junior and a girl who surprised many when she took the silver with an impressive 52.73s in her previous meet, the 2019 National Open in Ranchi. Poovamma clocked 53.45s, a good time to start the season.

Some of the country’s biggest names skipped the meet and many of those who turned up stayed away from their prime events. Like Muhammed Anas, the national record holder in the men’s 400m, who made his 100m debut on Thursday and produced a big upset. The Asian Games silver medallist shocked national record holder Amiya Kumar Mallick while finishing second to Krishnakumar Rane in 10.70s. Anas and Mallick, however, ran in different races.

“It was our coach’s decision to run the 100m, I will be running the 200m in the second Grand Prix (Feb. 25) and the 400m in the third (March 5),” Anas told Sportstar from Patiala.

Dutee Chand, the World University Games champion and Asian Games silver medallist, was the fastest woman, winning in 11.51s.

CHANDA’S BIG IMPROVEMENT

Season-openers can be very tricky, very unexpected too.

Delhi’s 19-year-old K. M. Chanda improved her personal best by nearly five seconds as she took the 800m gold in 2:04.91s shocking Lili Das while Yugant Singh, returning after a four-year doping ban, took the men’s long jump gold with a personal best 7.62m.

Arokia Rajiv, another leading quartermiler, who was running a shorter race, won the men’s 200m in 21.40s. The event was held as two races and Noah Nirmal Tom, who helped India to the seventh spot in the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2019 Doha Worlds and book a Tokyo Olympics berth, pulled up injured early in race ‘A’.

ATHLETES TESTED

With the Olympics coming up later this year, the National Anti-Doping Agency turned up to test athletes in Patiala. And according to sources, the agency came with a plan to test more athletes than it normally does.

• 100m: 1. Krishnakuma r Satish Rane (Mah) 10.68s, 2. Muhammed Anas (Ker) 10.70, 3. Amiya Kumar Mallick (Odi) 10.89.
• 200m: 1. Arokia Rajiv (Tamil Nadu) 21.40 seconds; 2. Shashank Shinde (Chhattisgarh) 22.21; 3. Sunil Jat (Rajasthan) 22.26.
• Long jump: 1. Yugant Singh (UP) 7.62m, 2. Sahil Mahabali (Har) 7.59, 3. R. Swaminathan (TN) 7.30.
• 400m: 1. Naganathan Pandi (TN) 47.32s, 2. Angrej Singh (Har) 47.59, 3. Gajanand Mistry (Guj) 47.97.
• 800m: 1. Ankesh Chaudhary (HP) 1:52.82s, 2. Devender Kumar (Har) 1:53.20, 3. Surender Chahal (Har) 1:57.02.
• 5000m: 1. Kishan Narsi Tadvi (Maharashtra) 14:52.70; 2. E Nagaraja (Karnataka) 18:48.41.
• 400m hurdles: 1. A. Dharun (TN) 51.33s, 2. Aftab Alam (UP) 51.56, 3. K. Sathish (TN) 52.12.
• Triple jump: Triple Jump: 1. Eldhose Paul (Kerala) 16.56m; 2. Karthik Unnikrishnan (Kerala) 16.20; 3. Mohammed Salahuddin (Tamil Nadu) 15.77.
• Shot put: 1. Sahib Singh (Del) 17.67m, 2. Juber Malik (Har) 16.96.

• 100m: 1. Dutee Chand (Odisha) 11.51 seconds; 2. AT Daneshwari (Karnataka) 11.86; 3. Diandra Dudley Valladares (Maharashtra) 11.97.
• 200m: 200m: 1. Anjali Devi (Haryana) 23.57 seconds; 2. Kaveri Laxmana Gouda Patil (Karnataka) 24.45; 3. Subha Venkatesan (Tamil Nadu) 24.59.
• 400m: 1. M.R. Poovamma (Kar) 53.45s, 2. Kiran Pahal (Har) 54.88, 3. Nancy (Har) 55.40.
• 800m: 1. Chanda (Del) 2:04.91s, 2. Lili Das (WB) 2:07.03, 3. Urvashi (Har) 2:14.76.
• Long jump: 1.Mareena George (Kerala) 6.11m; 2. Sonu Kumari (Haryana) 5.69m; 3. Tanushree (Rajasthan) 5.54.
• Shot put: 1. Kachnar Chaudhary (Raj) 14.38m, 2. Tunlai Sameswar Narzar (Asm) 13.62, 3. Rimpy Dabas (Del) 9.44.
• Discus throw: 1. Suravi Biswas (WB) 48.97m, 2. Jhuma Basu (WB) 44.20m.