Rupal ran a sensational race to clock the season's 10th fastest time for girls under-18 in the world to win the title in the National Open 400m championship at the Nehru Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
The Uttar Pradesh girl clocked 53.73 seconds to finish almost five seconds ahead of nearest challengers Tamil Nadu's P. R. Neeharika and Karnataka's Nayana Kokare.
In the process, Rupal's personal best proved to be the sixth fastest among women this season in India. Her previous best was 55.37, recorded in the under-16 category in the 2019 National junior meet in Guntur. This March, Rupal clocked 58.02 in the North Zone meet.
Later, Ayush Dabas easily staved off the challenges of Surendra Selvamani and Harpreet Singh Gill to maintain his reputation in the men’s section.
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Ayush, the firm favourite, clocked 46.86 seconds, to stay comfortably ahead of Selvamani (47.76) and Gill (48.13).
Abrar Choudhary (J&K) made up for a slow start to beat Pankaj (Rajasthan) with a fine burst in the homestretch in boys’ under-20.
Karnataka’s Rihan C. H. (49.02) stayed beyond the reach of the Rajasthan duo Sonu Chaudhary and Shivam to claim the honours in the under-18 section.
The women’s section proved a disappointment. There were only six entries and all three finishers made it to the podium.
Tamil Nadu’s Kanista Teena was an impressive winner in the girls’ under-16 section where she beat Karnataka’s Priyanka Olekar, the fastest runner in the heats and the semifinals.
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