Gowda enters final,but road gets tougher

Discus thrower Vikas Gowda qualified for the final when he threw a distance of 65.20 metres in his second attempt

Discus thrower Vikas Gowda qualified for the final when he threw a distance of 65.20 metres in his second attempt on Monday. The final will be held on Tuesday evening. Gowda topped Group A in the qualifying round but four other throwers from Group B performed better than him. However,with the aim of the throwers being to enter the final,the distances achieved during qualification need not necessarily be a true indication of form. The automatic cut-off for qualifying was set at 65 m.

Gowda became only the seventh-ever Indian athlete to qualify for a track and field final and the second at this edition of the Games after discus thrower Krishna Poonia. Gowda has a personal best of 68.28m,a feat achieved in April this year. He also holds the Indian national record. However,his recent showing at the Diamond League in New York,where he became the first Indian to win a bronze makes him a challenger if not an outright medal contender.

On Tuesday,Gowda will be up against the best. Germanys Robert Harting,who has the longest throw this season at 70.66 metres,has qualified from Group B. Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania,who is second on the 2012 top-throwers list at 70.28 metres,was second in Group B with a throw of 63.88 metres. Defending champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia topped the final standings in Group B with a 66.39m effort in his third and final throw.

Gowda has peaked over the past two years and has medals to show for it. He won medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games and his bronze at the Diamond league only reiterated that he is one of the most consistent if not extraordinary throwers.

Shooters disappoint

Indian shooters ended their campaign on a dismal note as medal contender Gagan Narang and Sanjeev Rajput crashed out of mens 50m rifle 3 positions event in the qualifying stage,while Manavjit Singh Sandhu also failed to enter the finals in the mens trap.

Narang,who secured the first medal for India in London by bagging a bronze in the mens 10m air rifle event on July 30,performed below par to finish 20th in a field of 41 competitors in the qualification round,while Rajput ended at the 26th spot. Manavjit totalled 119 out of a possible 125 with rounds of 24,24,22,25 and 24 to finish 16th out of 34 .