Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The country8217;s top athletes failed to live up to expectation on the opening day of the 14th Federation Cup athletics championships in Bhopal today. The day could easily be summed up as average, with none of the athletes came close to their best, let alone achieving the Beijing qualification mark.
Distance runner Surender Singh, who will represent the country at the world indoor meet in Valencia from March 7, ran a slow race in the men8217;s 5000m. According to information reaching here, his winning time was 14:16.18 seconds, indicating that he might be conserving his energy for the global competition. Last Thursday in Patiala, Surender completed the 5000m race in 13:46.47 and today he was nearly 30 second slower.
Others in the field too failed to put up an improved showing. Sandeep Batham, who finished second behind Surender, posted a time of 14:23 8212; nearly 58 seconds off the Beijing qualification mark. Top female distance runners too ran slow races. In Patiala, Preeja Shreedharan had posted a time of 15:57.70 in the 5000m event, but in Bhopal, she finished second 8212; behind Kavita Raut 8212; clocking 16:48.69 seconds.
Fed Cup results all finals
Women: 100m: HM Jyoti AP 11.89 seconds; 100m hurdles: Poonam Bojanna Jharkhand 14.13 secs; 5000m: Kavita Raut Maharashtra 16:48.37 secs; High jump: Sahana Kumari Jharkhand 1.81m.
Men: 100m: BG Nagraj Jharkhand 10.70 secs; 5000m: Surender Singh Army 14.16:18 secs; Triple jump: Amarjeet Singh Jharkhand 16.19m; Hammer throw: Shanawaj Khan UP 59.64m.
