Asian champions Ajay Kumar Saroj and P.U. Chitra won the men’s and women’s 1500m while M.P. Jabir and Sarita Ben Gayakwad made it a golden double for India in the 400m hurdles at the invitation athletics meet in Jakarta on Monday, a test event for the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.
UP’s Ajay defeated Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Shaween, the 2010 Asian Games champion who was banned for three years and stripped of his gold medal for doping in 2013, in a close race while Kerala’s Chitra was a comfortable winner.
READ: Gold for Davinder and Sonia
Kerala’s M.P. Jabir, who was close to his personal best, and Tamil Nadu’s T. Santhosh Kumar made it a one-two in the men’s 400m hurdles while 18-year-old M. Sreeshankar improved his personal best by two centimetres while finishing fourth.
The Kerala long jumper, who has qualified for this year’s under-20 World Championships in Finland, was in the bronze medal position till the penultimate round but with Taipei’s Lin Hung-Min jumping up two spots with a last-round 7.89m, Sreeshankar fell to fourth.
ALSO READ: Children from humble background shine in Khelo India Games
The results (gold medallists & Indians only):
Men: 1500m: 1. Ajay Kumar Saroj (Ind) 3:43.85s.
400m hurdles: 1. M.P. Jabir (Ind) 50.23s, 2. T. Santhosh Kumar (Ind) 50.38. Long jump: 1. Lin Hung-Min (Chn) 7.96m, 4. M. Sreeshankar (Ind) 7.74, 11. S. E. Shamsheer (Ind) 7.07. Decathlon: 1. Aries Toledo (Phi) 6659 pts.
Women: 1500m: 1. P.U. Chitra (Ind) 4:18.74s. 400m hurdles: Sarita Ben Gayakwad (Ind) 59.08s. Shot put: 1. Guo Tianqian (Chn) 17.32m.
Comments
SHARE