Tamil Nadu scores

In the 15th National Inter-zonal Junior athletic championship in Bhopal, Tamil Nadu won the overall championship leaving Uttar Pradesh in the second place. How many medals did Tamil Nadu win overall, and in which categories? How many points did it accumulate?

Well, the organisers of the Bhopal meet were not bothered to provide the details, or even make an attempt to calculate. Roughly, everyone knew that Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were in contention for the title, so the team managers of these two States sat together and went about calculating who won what and how much.

Overall, excluding the under-14 category, Tamil Nadu won 20 gold, 10 silver and 18 bronze medals as against Uttar Pradesh's 17, 10 and 13 in that order. Unfortunately, on the final day of the meet, there hardly was any time to draw any inference based on such a sketchy data.

To be fair to all, it is essential to have a class-wise medal tally and points table. It also helps the States to learn in which age categories they are weak in.

In the Junior men (under-20) category, U.P. led the medals tally with six gold, three silver and three bronze medals. Tamil Nadu (2-2-3) which was third behind Maharashtra (2-6-3) also gave a good show.

Expectations were there from Uttar Pradesh sprinter Vishal Saxena but he seemed troubled by the conditions. Though he ran faster than his Zonal timings, Saxena (10.87s) was way off the meet record in the 100-metre dash.

On the second day of the meet, Saxena came a poor fifth in the 200m sprint as steady rain spoiled the hopes of record-seekers. Rain continued into the third and final day making it difficult for the athletes as no National record could be bettered. However, a new meet record was set by discus thrower Simranjeet Singh, who launched the disc to a distance of 51.62 m bettering his own record (51.35m).

It was a close finish in the boys' under-18 category. U. P. edged ahead of Tamil Nadu, winning three gold, four silver and four bronze medals. Tamil Nadu (3-1-3) was second and Delhi (3-1-0) third. U. P. thrower Shahnawaj Khan and Haryana jumper Rajesh had their share of glory — both set new National marks in hammer and high jump respectively.

In the boys' under-16 category, U. P. was clear winner with a tally of three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Haryana (2-2-0) and Orissa (2-1-1) came second and third respectively. Among the 15 States that figured in the medals tally, Tamil Nadu was placed lowest at the bottom with just one bronze medal. Need we say that TN should concentrate on this area?

Women power came to the rescue of Tamil Nadu though. In the junior women section, Tamil Nadu won six gold, three silver and four bronze medals. In the second place was Bengal (5-3-2), followed by Uttar Pradesh (3-3-1).

Pole vaulter V. S. Surekha improved her own National record by a significant margin when she cleared 3.40m to give Tamil Nadu the gold medal. Her old record stood at 2.85m, which was achieved last year in Chennai.

Again, in the girls' under-18 category, Uttar Pradesh humbled Tamil Nadu, winning five gold and two bronze medals. Tamil Nadu (4-3-4) and Haryana (3-1-2) settled for second and third place respectively.

What cost Uttar Pradesh the most was that it failed to strike any medal in the girls' under-16 category. Tamil Nadu (5-1-3) led the tally and was followed by Bengal (4-3-2) and Haryana (2-1-0), in that order.

Middle distance runner Jhuma Khatun emerged as a good prospect. The 10th standard student of Lakhuria High School, Kolkata, showed good maturity in pacing herself in the middle-distance races.

Jhuma won the 800-metre run in two minutes 17.62 seconds and bettered an eight-year-old National mark. The old record of 2:18.9 was held by Anuradha. She set that record in New Delhi. Jhuma then went on to beat the meet record in the 2000m to help Bengal script a splendid show.

Tamil Nadu's A. Anitcham won two gold medals, in shot put and discus, and had the satisfaction of setting a new National record in shot put. She heaved the iron ball to 11.61m to better Aplesh's (11.53m) mark.

Something seemed amiss. The National inter-zonal produced just five National records and two meet records. Maybe the absence of Kerala, which for some reason failed to reach Bhopal, affected the overall positions in the medals tally.

The results: (all winners):

Junior men (under-20): 100m: Vishal Saxena (UP) 10.87s, 200m: Anmol Ratan Tete (Jhar) 22.01s. 400m: Anmol Ratan Tete 48.34s. 800m: Bachu Durlav (Ben) 1:58.86. 1500m: Jai Prakash (UP) 4:07.9. 5000m: Gopal Singh (UP) 15:31.32. 10000m: Manoj Kumar (UP) 32:06.3. 110m hurdles: K. Krishna Raju (AP) 15.05s. 400m hurdles: Akhilesh Singh (UP) 54.45s. 3000m steeplechase: Vikas Singh (UP) 9:45.38. High jump: Rajesh Kumar (Har) 2.00m. Long jump: D. Arivazhan (TN) 7.14m. Triple jump: Praful Gaurav (Mah) 14.95m. Pole vault: Naseemuddin (UP) 4.20m. Shot put: Sandeep Kumar (Har) 15.99m. Discus: Simranjeet Singh (Pun) 51.62m NMR (old 51.35). Hammer: Ashish Kumar Singh (UP) 64.39m. Javelin: Harminder Singh (Del) 59.38m. Decathlon: K. Shankar (TN) 6130 pts. 4x100m relay: East Zone 43.86s. 10000m walk: Mahendra Gupta (Mah) 46:50.6. Best athlete: Simranjee Singh (Pun) (Discus).

Boys (under-18): Rahmatullah Mollana (Ben) 10.98s. 200m: Vipin Kumar (UP) 22.62s. 400m: K. Siva Nagaraju (AP) 49.19s. 800m: Sunram Tiria (Ori) 1:57.77. 1500m: Sanjeev Kumar (Jhar) 4:03.7. 5000m: Sanjeev Kumar (Jhar) 15:20.88. 110 hurdles: S. Baskar (TN) 14.97s. 400m hurdles: K. Siva Nagaraju 54.60s. 2000m steeplechase: Sunaram Tiria (Ori) 6:11.91. High jump: Rajesh (Har) 2.04m NR (old 2.03). Long jump: A. Amalanathan (TN) 6.93m. Triple jump: P. Vinoth Kumar (TN) 14.38m. Pole vault: Virendra Singh (AAFI) 4.00m. Shot put: Saurabh Vij (Del) 16.21m. Discus: Puneet Vij (Del) 50.56m. Hammer: Shahnawaj Khan (UP) 63.64m NR (old 61.34). Javelin: Anuj Kumar (UP) 66.78m. Octathlon: Mohan G. K. (Kar) 4706 pts. 4x100m relay: North Zone 44.14s. 10000m walk: Raj Kumar (Del) 49:49.3. Best athlete: Rajesh (Har) (High jump).

Boys (under-16): 100m: Budhuram Singh (Ori) 11.41s. 400m: Dinesh Kumar (Har) 51.13s. 800m: Lakhan Mardi (Jhar) 2:00.50. 2000m: Mukesh Kumar Patel (UP) 5:51.8. 100m hurdles: Tanka Roy (Ben) 13.92s. High jump: Laxman Chavda (Mah) 1.88m. Long jump: Budhuram Singh (Ori) 7.03m. Shot out: Ajay Kumar (UP) 15.03m. Discus: Dinesh Kumar (Har) 44.83m. Hammer: Ubed ur-Rahman Khan (AP) 49.57m. Javelin: Javed (UP) 58.83m. Pentathlon: Veelajhaya (AP) 4035 pts. 1000m medley relay: 1. Uttaranchal 2:04.71. 5000m walk: M. Dung Dung Meetal (Man) 25:21.68. Best athlete: Budhuram Singh (Ori) (Long jump).

Boys under-14: 100m: Harihar Kadam (AP) 11.78s. Long jump: Jogender Singh (Har) 6.12m.

Triathlon: Group `A': Bipankar Roy (Ben) 1760 pts. Group `B': Kedar Banchor (Ori) 1609 pts. Group `C': Mithun Tripura (Tri) 2089.

Junior women (under-20): 100m: Shilpi Dhali (Ben) 12.05s. 200m: K. Aruna Kumari (AP) 24.97s. 400m: Shilpi Dhali (Ben) 57.05s. 800m: Abha Rani (Mah) 2:12.66. 1500m: Abha Rani 4:45.56. 3000m: S. Thabaton Devi (Man) 10:17.00. 5000m: Nasima Khatun (Ben) 18:47.2. 100m hurdles: Sasmita Singh Roy (Ben) 15.77s. 400m hurdles: Mini Suvarna (Mah) 1:05.17. High jump: A. Amutha (TN) 1.68m. Long jump: A. Amudha (TN) 5.56m. Triple jump: A. Amudha (TN) 11.99m. Pole vault: V. S. Surekha (TN) 3.40m NR (old 2.85). Shotput: Shakshi Sharma (Chd) 12.15m. Discus: Priyanka (Har) 36.34m. Hammer: 1. Gurinder Kaur (Pun) 39.79m. Javelin: S. Saraswathi (TN) 43.92m. Hepthathlon: Sushmita (Ben) 4252 pts. 4x400m relay: South Zone 4:01.31. 10000m walk: M. Manjula (TN) 57:01.88. Best athlete: V. S. Surekha (TN) (Pole vault).

Girls' (under-18): 100m: R. Rama Devi (AP) 12.44s. 200m: K. Rama Devi (AP) 25.63s. 400m: K. Rama Devi (AP) 57.22s. 800m: N. C. Mohanlal (TN) 2:23.11. 1500m: 1. Sudha Singh (UP) 4:53.10. 3000m: Sudha Singh (UP) 10:35.74. 100m hurdles: Pooja (Har) 15.19s. 400m hurdles: Anita Yadav (UP) 1:07.15. High jump: D. Karpuramala (TN) 1.50m. Long jump: P. Laxmi (TN) 5.72m. Triple jump: K. Revathi (TN) 12.10m. Shotput: Neha Singh (UP) 10.58m. Discus: Indu Bala (Har) 40.34m. Hammer: Shilpa Chauhan (UP) 39.47s. Javelin: Aplesh (Har) 37.00m, Heptathlon: Fradnya Patil (Mah) 4145 pts. 5000m walk: Rajwinderjit Kaur (Pun) 30:36.41. Best Athlete: Indu Bala (Har) (Discus).

Girls (under-16): 100m: R. Srija Mole (TN) 12.92s. 400m: Shoba Rani (AP) 1:00.18. 800: Jhuma Khatun (Ben) 2:17.62 NR (old 2:18.9). 2000m: Jhuma Khatun (Ben) 6:43.75 NMR (old 6:43.78). 100m hurdles: Pavithra Swopna (TN) 15.72s. High Jump: D. Divya Priya (TN) 1.60m. Long jump: Safina Khatun (Ben) 5.41m. Shot put: A. Anitcham (TN) 11.61m NR (old 11.53). Discus: A. Anicham (TN) 36.48m. Javelin: Neelam Sangwan (Har) 32.16m. Pentathlon: Birangana Thakrey (Ben) 2449 pts. 1000m medley relay: Karnataka 2:25.75. 3000m walk: Manju (Har) 16:44.68. Best athlete: Jhuma Khatun (Ben) (800m, 2000m).

Girls under-14: 100m: Labina Khatun (Ben) 13.20s. Long jump: Labina Khatun (Ben) 5.00m. Triathlon: Group `A': Labina Khatun (Ben) 1276 pts. Group `B': Arti (Har) 1105 pts. Group `C': Jauna Murmu (Ori) 1450 pts. — Kirti Patil