Chennai, June 6: Chennai, Jun 6 Olympian Sudha Singh of Uttar Pradesh a rising star on Indian athletics firmament, ensured her place at the world championship in Moscow later in August by cracking a new national record in the grueling 3000 m steeplechase for women on the penultimate day of the 53rd National Athletics Championship at the Nehru stadium here today. Kerala’s men quartet of Anuroop John, Ranjith K.G, Shameer and Rahul G.Pillai accounted for a new meet record while winning the 4 x 100 m relay race.
Twenty seven year-old Sudha from raebareli, up and employed with Central Railway, registered the feat with a superb effort of 9:45.60 S. Harayana’s Kirantiwari (10.32.94s) and Priyanka patel (UP-10.45.32s) won the silver and bronze medals,in that order.
Sudha’s win today at 9.45plus was three seconds lower than’B’ standard for the World event (9.48plus).
She was the 2010 China Asian Games Gold winner. She had made it to the London Olympics with a new national record (9.47.70secs) set in Spain last July. But she was eliminated in the heats in London clocking 9.48.86 secs.
Kerala men stood solidly to remain run away winners in record time in the 4 x 100 meter relay event by fraction of a second to hog the limelight.
Taking to their pet event soon after its women counterparts (Neethu Rajan, Sini.S, Priya P.K, Merlin Joseph) lived up to their standing winning the gold medal, Kerala men displayed cohesion in their strides and especially in exchange of batons.
In the men’s Pole Vault final, although Kerala’s Jithin C.Thomas and Nilkhil Chittarasu of Tamil Nadu came up with identical efforts of 2.17 meters, Jithin grabbed the gold for having set the mark in his first attempt compared to Nikhil’s third try. (UNI)
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