Double delight for Dutee Chand; Renjith beaten

Dutee Chand of ONGC won her second gold medal at the 53rd National Open Athletics Championships after winning the 200m race

Dutee Chand of ONGC won her second gold medal at the 53rd National Open Athletics Championships after winning the 200m race,even as triple jumper Renjith Maheswary failed to defend his title on the final day.

The Asian bronze medallist,who won gold in the 100m sprint,was just three hundredth of a second faster than her nearest rival Chavi Sharawat of Railways in the final at the Birsa Munda Athletic Stadium. In the mens 200m,Orissas Amiya Kumar Mallick warded off the challenge from Railway star Manikanda Arumugam to win the race in a noteworthy 21.22s.

National record-holder Maheswary,whose Arjuna Award has been put on hold,was upset by young Arpinder Singh by just 6 cm. In another upset,Sajeesh Joseph lost to Services runner Sandeep Karan Singh in the mens 1500m race.

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In the womens 10000m,Suriya Loganathan improved her personal best to 34:07.45s to clinch her second gold in the event. Her previous best was 34:43.63s while finishing seventh in this years Asian championships at Pune. In the mens section,Army man Kheta Ram,who barely missed a podium-finish at the Asian championships,wrested the mens title with a timing of 29:47.92s. Suresh Kumar Patel (ONGC) pushed the Services runner right from the beginning of the race and settled for a silver in a credible 29:48.10s in the 10000m.

BLACK OUT ENDING

Meanwhile, the championships ended in chaos with the closing ceremony being held in darkness after a power blackout. Jharkhand Athletics Association president Madhu Kant Pathak blamed the electricity department. Its not in my hand,its with the electricity department, Pathak said about the blackout that marred the closing ceremony. There are 50 generators,but none functioned due to lack of maintenance, said another officer bearer of the association.

Jharkhand sports minister Geetashree Oraon waited for almost an hour before giving away prizes in dim lights.

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Kurnool bus accident that killed 20 caused by drunk biker, says forensic report

India2 hr ago

A forensic report has concluded that the Kurnool bus accident, which claimed 20 lives, was caused by a drunk biker, B Shiva Shankar. The biker was allegedly driving under the influence when his bike skidded on a wet road and collided with the bus, causing it to burst into flames. The police have gathered evidence and the investigation is ongoing.

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