Dhanalakshmi upstages Dutee Chand for 100m title at Inter State athletics
Hima Das withdrew from the 100m final due to a hamstring injury she picked up earlier in the day. She has been slated to compete in the 4x100m relay final on Tuesday.
India’s leading sprinters Dutee Chand and Hima Das struggled on Saturday as Dhanalakshmi Sekar ran away with the 100m title at the 60th Inter State Athletics Championships.
Having announced herself with a record-breaking feat at the Federation Cup earlier this year, the 23-year-old Dhanalakshmi from Tamil Nadu won the 100m gold in 11.52 seconds at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
Sri Lanka’s Amasha de Silva was second in 11.59 seconds while the experienced Archana Suseendran of Tamil Nadu took the bronze in 11.60 seconds.
Dutee Chand came in fourth with a timing of 11.62 seconds.
Hamstring injury halts Hima Das
Earlier in the day, Hima Das received a severe jolt to her Olympic aspirations after suffering a hamstring injury.
Competing in the 100m heats, the Assam runner managed to complete her race in the second position but had to pull out of the final following the injury.
Though the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is still to confirm the extent of her injury, if serious, this could be a big blow for India’s 4x100m women’s relay team as well.
Ranked 20th on World Athletics’ Road To Tokyo rankings, the Indian quartet of Hima Das, Archana Suseendran, Dhanalakshmi Sekar and Dutee Chand are eyeing the final on Tuesday to improve their ranking. The team can claim one of the two slots available outside the direct entries. Only 16 teams will make it to the Tokyo Olympics, of which 14 have been confirmed.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 100m final, Punjab’s Gurindervir Singh set a new meet record with a timing of 10.27 seconds. He obliterated the previous best of 10.32 seconds set by Krishna Rane at the 2014 edition in Lucknow.
Another Punjab runner, Lovepreet Singh came in second with a timing of 10.47 seconds while Odisha’s Amiya Mallick completed the podium in 10.49 seconds.
Inter State Athletics Championships 2021 - Day 2 medals
Men
100m: Gurindervir Singh (PUN) 10.27, 1st; Lovepreet Singh (PUN) 10.47, 2nd; Amiya Mallick (ODI) 10.49, 3rd.
400m hurdles: MP Jabir (KER) 49.78, 1st; Sathish K (TN) 51.90, 2nd; Pravin Kumar (TN) 52.77, 3rd.
High jump: Tejaswin Shankar (DEL) 2.20, 1st; Geo Jose (KER) 2.15, 2nd; Aromal T (KER) 2.15, 3rd.
Hammer throw: Damneet Singh (PUN) 62.03, 1st; Niraj Kumar (RAJ) 60.28, 2nd; Ravi (HAR) 57.92, 3rd.
Decathlon: Usaid Khan (UP) 6893, 1st; S Gokul (KER) 6680, 2nd; Gurlal Singh (PUN) 6428, 3rd.
Women
100m: Dhanalakshmi Sekar (TN) 11.52, 1st; Amasha de Silva (SL) 11.59, 2nd; Archana Suseendran (TN) 11.60, 3rd.
400m hurdles: Salini VK (KER) 1:01.63, 1st; Khushdeep Kaur (PPUN) 1:04.52, 2nd; Nirmal Punia (HAR) 1:05.68, 3rd.
Long jump: Shaili Singh (UP) 6.48, 1st; Sherin A (TN) 6.26, 2nd; Renu (HAR) 6.17, 3rd.
Shot put: Manpreet Kaur (PUN) 16.95, 1st; Srishti V (DEL) 15.96, 2nd; Kiran Baliyan (UP) 15.75, 3rd.