Services and Kerala dominate

KAMESH SRINIVASAN

AFTER the uncertainty about the very inclusion of canoeing and kayaking in the National Games, it was a welcome relief for Services and Kerala to be able to boost their gold collection at the Sukhna Lake.

Most of the boats were outdated and repaired just in time for the meet. They stood no comparison to the Chinese boats that were used during the training camps by the Services and Kerala.

Yet, the two teams overcame the field with remarkable assurance, winning 14 and six medals respectively. Services missed only one gold medal in the men's section, and that was in the K-2 race over 500 metres.

The Andhra Pradesh pair of P. S. Madhu and Parveen Kumar had a sweet revenge over the Services pair of Vinod Pavitran and Ashish Kumar who had beaten them during the selection trials for the Services team earlier.

The celebration was such that the two Andhra lads were in the water after the memorable finish, and had to be pulled out on to their boat by the officials who followed the race in a motor-boat.

"We didn't expect to lose any race. Anyway, the water force is such that you can never tell a thing for sure," observed the Services coach, Surjit Singh.

Vaga Ram Bishnoi stood out in the C-1 events as he clinched the gold in the 1000-metre and 500-metre races.

"They put five kilograms of sand to make the boat of the same weight as the others, and thus I could not come with a good timing, though I won the races," said the 29-year-old Vaga Ram, who had won a bronze in the last Asian championship, apart from finishing fourth in the Bangkok Asian Games.

The foursome of Jessy Mol, Mini Mol, K. N. Bindu and A. Smita helped Kerala sweep all the six gold medals at stake in the women's section.

"They are very experienced and we knew that they would win the medals. We can do much better if we have more centres in Kerala. Right now, we have only the SAI centre, which cannot accommodate all the aspiring candidates," said the secretary of the Kerala canoeing and kayaking association, Prof. P. C. George.

More centres and better equipment, not just in Kerala, but in the other parts of the country wherever feasible, should make the sport much more attractive and rewarding. Punjab missed out on the opportunity by opting to make do with old equipment.

The results (finals):Men:1,000m:

K-1: 1. P. K. Baroi (Serv) 4:11.80; 2. T. Prashanth (Ker) 4:13.75; 3. Ravi Antil (Chd) 4:17.68.

K-2: 1. Services (Karma Toppo and P. K. Baroi) 3:52.58; 2. Kerala 3:55.59; 3. Andhra Pradesh 3:56.77.

K-4: 1. Services (Karma Toppo, P. K. Baroi, S. Maharaja, P. K. Rai) 3:27.89; 2. Andhra Pradesh 3:31.14; 3. Kerala 3:31.46.

C-1: 1. Vaga Ram Bishnoi (Serv) 4:40.48; 2. Shiva Kumar (Kar) 4:43.97; 3. V. K. Vinu (Ker) 4:44.10.

C-2: 1. Services (Daleep Beniwal, Ajit Kumar) 4:07.54; 2. Karnataka 4:22.14; 3. Kerala 4:23.68.

500m:

K-1: 1. Karma Toppo (Serv) 2:06.40; 2. Ravi Antil (Chd) 2:10.34; 3. K. V. Mohanan (Kar) 2:11.69.

K-2: 1. Andhra Pradesh (P. S. Madhu, Praveen Kumar) 1:53.76; 2. Services 1:57.08; 3. Delhi 1:58.58.

K-4: 1. Services (P. K. Baroi, Karma Toppo, M. K. Saji, Ashish Kumar) 1:40.89; 2. Karnataka 1:46.34; 3. Andhra Pradesh 1:48.34.

C-1: 1. Vaga Ram Bishnoi (Serv) 2:24.69; 2. Jobi Varghese (AP) 2:27.38; 3. Hemlung Pow (Punj) 2:31.38.

C-2: 1. Services (Ajit Kumar, Daleep Beniwal) 2:02.50; 2. Punjab 2:11.33; 3. Kerala 2:11.67.

200m:

K-1: 1. Karma Toppo (Serv) 56.04; 2. K. V. Mohanan (Kar) 58.41; 3. P. S. Madhu (AP) 59.58.

K-2: 1. Services (P. K. Baroi, Karma Toppo) 49.44; 2. Kerala 52.29; 3. Andhra Pradesh 53.21.

K-4: 1. Services (Karma Toppo, P. K. Baroi, Ashish Kumar, P. Vinod) 45.28; 2. Andhra Pradesh 46.30; 3. Kerala 47.71.

C-1: 1. S. Siji Kumar (Serv) 1:03.90; 2. M. Sanjit Singh (Mani) 1:08.68; 3. K. Maheshan (Punj) 1:08.84.

C-2: 1. Services (Philip Mathew, G. Ajith Kumar) 57.03; 2. Punjab 59.48; 3. Andaman and Nicobar 59.69.

Women:500m:

K-1: 1. K. Mini Mol (Ker) 2:26.09; 2. Srimathi Sardar (A&N) 2:28.79; 3. M. Niteshwary (Mani) 2:38.74.

K-2: 1. Kerala (Mini Mol, Jessy Mol) 2:19.26; 2. Andaman and Nicobar 2:20.26; 3. Andhra Pradesh 2:23.65.

K-4: 1. Kerala (Jessy Mol, Mini Mol, K. N. Bindu, A. Smita) 2:05.01; 2. Andaman and Nicobar 2:08.82; 3. Andhra Pradesh 2:11.37.

200m:

K-1: 1. Mini Mol (Ker) 1:06.17; 2. Srimati Sardar (A&N) 1:08.18; 3. K. M. Kouch Mol (AP) 1:13.12.

K-2: 1. Kerala (Mini Mol, K. N. Bindu) 1:02.54; 2. Andaman and Nicobar 1:03.58 3. Andhra Pradesh 1:06.83.

K-4: 1. Kerala (Jessy Mol, K. N. Bindu, Mini Mol, A. Smita) 57.09; 2. Andaman and Nicobar 58.36; 3. Andhra Pradesh 1:03.19.