Khelo India: Nisar Ahmed takes 100m gold

Uttarakhand's Anu Kumar became the first double gold medallist in the competition.

Nisar Ahmed wishes to "explode the myth that Indians cannot run below 10 seconds." Photo: Special Arrangement.

Delhi sprinter Nisar Ahmad justified his decision to postpone a training trip to Jamaica, becoming the fastest runner at the Khelo India School Games on Friday with a 10.76 seconds finish in the 100 metres dash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Karnataka's V. A. Shashikanth was runner-up in 10.90s and Haryana’s Govind Kumar came third in 10.95s.

Ahmed, in fact, completed in 10.77s even as the recall whistle went off; he was told that the actual race would be run after 20 minutes. Karan Hegiste of Karnataka, expected to push Ahmed, was disqualified because of another false start on resumption.

“I want to use this scholarship to explode the myth that Indians cannot run below 10 seconds. I had to delay my trip to Jamaica but will now leave tomorrow,” Ahmed, who skipped the 200m to concentrate on the sprint, said.

Avantika Narale of Maharashtra was the fastest girl in the competition, winning the 100m in 12.35 seconds.

Double gold for Anu Kumar

Uttarakhand's Anu Kumar, meanwhile, became the first double gold medallist in the competition, adding the 800m on Day Three to the 1500m he won on the first day with a personal best timing of 1:52.08. His previous best was 1:53.59, set at the World School Games in France where Anu finished second.

 

Also completing her golden double was Haryana's Pooja, adding the Discus Throw gold to her kitty with a throw of 41.01m. She had earlier won gold in Shot Put as well. Tamil Nadu’s A. Jenci Susan won silver with a throw of 40.43m while Uttar Pradesh’s Nikita Verma won bronze.

Mane equals National record

In shooting, Shahu Mane, who has qualified for the Youth Olympics later this year, shot a score of 247.7 to equal the national record in the youth category and take gold ahead of more fancied rivals in the 10m air rifle competition. While Hriday Hazarika, the country’s top-ranked youth shooter, and Yashvardhan both managed to better the existing national record with scores of 624.3 and 623.9 respectively in qualifying, they faltered in the final round to finish out of the medal bracket.

Among the girls, Chandigarh's Zeena Khitta took gold ahead of Nandita Sul and Yana Rathore. Zeena, who would be participating in the ISSF Junior World Cup in March, took control in the finals early on and stayed in front all through to finish with 251.6, 2.3 points ahead of second-placed Nandita.

• Athletics
• 100m: Boys: 1. Nisar Ahmed (10.76s), 2. Shashikanth VA (10.90s), 3. Govind Kumar (10.95s); Girls: 1. Avantika Narale (12.35s), 2. R. Giridharani (12.49s), 3. M Santra Teresa Martin (12.61s).
• 800m: Boys: 1. Anu Kumar (1:52.08), 2. N Sree Kiran (1:54.13), 3. Vaseem Tomar (1:55.78); Girls: 1. Tai Bamhane (2:13.37), 2. Priscilla Daniel (2:13.91), 3. Sandra A S (2:15.92).
• 3000m: Boys: 1. Vishal Makwana (8:48.79), 2. Sandeep Kumar (8:49.52), 3. Siddharth Phor (8:53.53); Girls: 1. Seema (10:15.15), 2. Antima Pal (10:18.19), 3. Kajal Shamu (10:22.56).
• 110m hurdles: Boys: 1. Punga Soren (14.12s), 2. Aditya Prakash (14.30), 3. G Nishanthraja (14.57s); Girls: 1. Aparna Roy (14.02s), 2. PM Tabitha (14.36s), 3. Pratibha Kumari (14.54s).
• Discus Throw
• Boys: 1. Ikram Ali Khan (51.39m), 2. Dhanvir Singh (50.64m), 3. Nagendra Annappa Naik (50.01m);
• Girls: 1. Pooja (41.01m), 2. A Jenci Susan (40.43m), 3. Nitika Verma (39.27m).
• High Jump
• 1. Shahnawaz Khan (2.01m), 2. Mandeep Nain (1.98m), 3. Suraj Kumar (1.90m); Girls: 1. Rubina Yadav (1.76m), 2. Gayathry Siva Kumar (1.65m), 3. SB Supriya (1.65m).
• Shooting
• 10m Air Rifle: Boys: 1. Shahu Mane (247.7), 2. Rithik Ramesh (245.6), 3. Parth Makhija (225.0); Girls: 1. Zeena Khitta (251.6), 2. Nandita Sul (249.3), 3. Yana Rathore (227.2).