Kerala dominate relays; Lucy clears record

Kerala teams won the boys (under-20) and (under-18), girls (under-20) and (under-18) 4×100 relay races, of which both events in the boys’ section were exciting by all accounts. The only relay medal the hosts missed today was in the under-16 boys’ category because the team was disqualified in the semifinals.

In the under-18 boys’ category, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were involved in a gruelling battle till the end. Kerala’s Thalib was off to a brilliant start but AP’s Arshadwas on par with him at the end of the lap. In the second lap, AP’s Bennet Raja, and Kerala’s P S Saji were involved in a close finish but homeside’s Jipson Jacob, who took over the baton at the penultimate stage, ran a blistering race to leave others way behind and when the shortly-built Mohammed took over the anchor phase, the battle was all over for other teams. Karnataka came third.

The under-20 relay was a battle of fluctuating fortunes. Initially, Karnataka boys gave Kerala a run. But the latter turned out to be an unbeatable combination.

The other notable achievement of the day was Karamvir Singh’s double in the boys under-16 category when the Ludhiana boy heaved the iron ball to a distance of 15.12 metres. Earlier, Karamvir had won the discus event with a new meet record.

At the end of the fourth day, Kerala maintained their lead with 273.50 points. Karnataka (168), Maharashtra (136) and West Bengal (110) follow the hosts in that order.

Results: Boys U-20: 400m relay: 11 Kerala (Prince Mattam,S Mohammed, Baby Thomas, Sreekumar, 43.08s), 2 Karnataka, 3 AP; 400m hurdles: 1 Ravindra Mahamuni (Mah, 54.73m), 2 Satnam Singh (Pun), 3 Hargobind Singh (Pun); 5,000m: 1 Arun D’Souza (Kar, 15:14.11), 2 W Joykumar Singh (Man), 3 Ganapati Bhusnar (Mah); Discus throw: 1 Krishna Kumar Sharma (Bih), 2 Navpreet Singh (Pun), 3 Suresh Kumar (Raj)

U-18: 4×100 m relay the file %s(%s)1. Kerala (T Thalib, Saji P S, Jipson Jacob, S Mohammed, 43.34 (NMR) OR: 43.38 (Kerala, 1995), 2. AP (Arshad, Bennet , Prabhudas, Durgaraj, 43.77) 3. Karnataka (M Mustaquian, Devaraj, Premkumar , Akram), Javelin throw: the file %s(%s)1. Y Boge Singh (Man, 55.34m) 2. Krishna Singh (Har, 53.76) 3. Gopiram (Raj, 52.94), U-16: 100 m: the file %s(%s)1. M Kumar (Ktka, 11.43s) 2. Sukuram Birua (Oris, 11.45) 3. Rajesh Appu (TN, 11.46), Shot put: the file %s(%s)1. Karamvir Singh (Pjb, 15.12 m) 2. Jagminder Singh (Raj, 14.42) 3. Darshan Kumar (UP, 14.31), 3 km walk: the file %s(%s)1. Rajesh (Har, 13.59.50) 2. K H Rattan Singh (Man, 14.10.50) 3.K Sriram (AP, 14.36.70).

Girls: U-20: the file %s(%s)4×100 m relay (Mary Seema, Jibymol Abraham, Mary Alexender, Archana V Gupta, 48.76) 2. Orissa (49.26) 3. Maharashtra (49.90), 400 m hurdles: the file %s(%s)1. Ranjini Ravindran (Ker, 1: 04.60 m) 2. Aparna Badkar (Mah, 1: 05.08) 3. Meera Rajan (Ker, 1: 05.38), U-18: 100 m hurdles: the file %s(%s)1. Shilpa Sequeria (Kar, 15.17s) 2. Dipti Vaidya (Mah, 15.51) 3. Ranjini Ravindran (Ker, 16.21s), 3,000 m: the file %s(%s)1. L Chadba Chanu (Man, 10: 37.26) 2. Rupali Chanda (WB, 10:47.20) 3. Renuka L Gokeri (Ktka, 10: 53.96), U-16: 100 m 3 km walk: the file %s(%s)1. Deepamala Devi (Man, 16: 13.10), 2. Johncy Joy (Ker, 16: 19.50 3. L Sardha Devi (Man, 16: 41.20).