Nagraj, Poonam emerge the fastest

BG Nagraj of Jharkhand and Poonam Tomar from Delhi emerged the fastest male and female athletes...

BG Nagraj of Jharkhand and Poonam Tomar from Delhi emerged the fastest male and female athletes, respectively, on the second day of the Federation Cup Athletics here today. But the winning time of both athletes were ordinary. Nagraj clocked 10.69 seconds for the gold, while Poonam finished the race in 12.16 seconds.

For Poonam, winning was more important than posting a fast time. 8220;Since the field wasn8217;t as strong as expected, I didn8217;t go all out in the race. I just wanted to add the fourth title to my kitty of the three I had already won,8221; said Poonam after her gold winning efforts.

Newly-married H M Joythi from Andhra Pradesh, failed to keep pace with her seasoned rival and finished second in 12.19, while Ranjita Roy of West Bengal was third in 12.36.

But the day also witnessed a controversy as well as a superb comeback by heptathlete Susmita Singha Roy. Susmita walked out in her sixth event 8212; javelin 8212; of the heptathlon after she was denied a single point by the judges, deputed by the West Bengal Athletics Association.

However, the local athlete put that incident behind her and scripted a marvelous win in the 800 metres to claim gold in heptathlon. In the process, she beat Sinimol MP of Kerala by four points. With 4891 points in her kitty, the smile was back on Susmita8217;s face while Sinimol had to be content with the silver 4888.

Susmita8217;s coach, Roy said: 8220;Looking back at her showing in the National Games in February this year, she has bettered her performance by 200 points over the last two months, thanks to her training in South Africa. Now, I8217;ve set her a target of 5800 points in the Grand Prix to be held in Pune later this year.8221;

Susmita8217;s feat apart, Bengal bagged two more medals today. Y Bala Devi won gold in the 20km walk at 1 hour 48 minutes. And Ranjita Roy, who is yet to recover from a knee injury, won bronze in 100 metres, clocking 12.26 seconds. An upset Ranjita said: 8220;I8217;m not at all happy with the timing. I could better my best 11.70 seconds that I managed in the state championship this year.8221;

Story continues below this ad

Sinimol Paulose, the bronze winner in the Doha Asian Games in the 1500 metres, won gold in 800 metres today. The Jharkhand athlete who clocked 2:05.13 attributed her performance to India8217;s middle-distance foreign coach Dr Nikolai K Snesarev. Delhi8217;s Susma and A Vijila of Kerala pocketed silver and bronze medals respectively.

Results Day Two

Men: 100m: B. G. Nagraj Jharkhand 10.69; Sameer Mon Army 10.73; Rahamatulla Molla WB 10.84; 800m: Francis Sagayaraj Army 1:48.27; C. Hamza Army 1:48.29; Sajeesh Joseph Kerala 1:48.34; 3000 steeplechase: Omprakash Ar-my 9:06.13; Bhagwan Diwakar Giri Haryana 9:06.69; Mahesh Kumar Maha 9:11.24; Hammer: Nirbhay Singh UP 65.17; Harinder Singh Punjab Police 62.65; Yogesh Army 61.42.

Women: 100m: Poonam Tomar Delhi 12.16; H M Jyothi AP 12.19; Ranjita Roy WB 12.36; 800m: Sinimol Paulose Jharkhand 2: 05.13; Sushma Delhi 2:05.51; Vijila A Kerala 2:06.67; Javelin: Gurpreet Kaur Haryana 46.01; Nisha Rani Haryana 44.55; Mukesh Rani Haryana 43.18; Pole vault: N. Madhusini Devi UP 3.50; Tapasi Nandy WB 3.10; 20k walk : Y. Bala Devi WB 1:48:40.99; Supriya Adhak Maha 1:56:49.15; Subhasmita Rath Orissa 2:10: 42.74.