Harmilan Bains sets national record at National Open athletics meet

Indian middle distance runner Harmilan Bains set a new national record to win the women’s 1500m event at the National Open Athletics Championships 2021 in Warangal, Telangana on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Harmilan Bains clocked 4:05.39 seconds for the gold medal, breaking Sunita Rani’s 19-year-old record of 4:06.03, set at the 2002 Asian Games.

Delhi’s Chanda came in second with a timing of 4:18.24 while KM Deeksha of Madhya Pradesh took the bronze in 4:24.34.

This was Harmilan Bains’ sixth win of the season. The youngster, however, will have to improve her timing a lot more to secure a direct entry to the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA. The qualifying mark for the Oregon Worlds, which starts in July next year, is set at 4:04.20.

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh’s K Naresh Kumar set a new meet record in the men’s 100m dash. In what a closely fought race, the 23-year-old athlete clocked 10.30 seconds for the win.

Naresh Kumar bettered the previous mark of 10.37 seconds set by Anil Kumar at the 2001 meet in Chennai.

It was a photo finish for the second and third spots in the men’s 100m as Assam’s Amlan Borgohain pipped Harjit Singh of Services by a whisker. Borgohain clocked 10.334 seconds for the silver medal while Harjit took the bronze medal with a timing of 10.340 seconds.

This was the first time that three Indians had dipped below the 10.35-second mark in a single race.

Results from day 2 of the 60th National Open Athletics Championships 2021

Finals only

Men

100m: K Naresh Kumar (AP) 10.30 (NMR; Old: Anil Kumar, 10.37, Chennai, 2001), 1; Amlan Borgohain (ASM) 10.334, 2; Harjit Singh (SER) 10.340, 3.

400m: Muhammed Ajmal (SER) 46.84, 1; Gajanand Mistry (GUJ) 46.85, 2; Ayush Dabas (HAR) 47.10, 3.

1500m: Parvej Khan (HAR) 3:42.64, 1; Ajay Kumar Saroj (RLY) 3:44.05, 2; Rahul (DEL) 3:44.57, 3.

4x100m Relay: Railways 40.04, 1; Tamil Nadu 40.44, 2; Services 40.88, 3.

Long Jump: Swaminathan R (RLY) 7.73m, 1; Jeswin Aldrin (TN) 7.67m, 2; Nirmal Sabu (RLY) 7.67m, 3.

Javelin Throw: Sahil Silwal (HAR) 77.79m, 1; Manu DP (Ser) 74.92m, 2; Rohit Yadav (RLY) 74.28m, 3.

Decathlon: Yamandeep Sharma (RAJ) 3155, 1; Usaid Khan (SER) 3284, 2; Gokul KR (SER) 3015, 3.

20km Race Walk: Chandan Singh (UTK) 1:29:21.00, 1; Devender Singh (SER) 1:29:26.00. 2; Juned (RLY) 1:29:38.00, 3.

Women

100m: Taranjeet Kaur (DEL) 11.50, 1; Archana Suseendran (TN) 11.68, 2; Simi NS (RLY) 11.78

400m: R Vithya Ramraj (TN) 53.79, 1; Nancy (HAR) 54.41, 2; Kiran Pahal (RLY) 54.80, 3.

1500m: Harmilan Bains (PUN) 4:05.39 (NR; Old: Sunita Busan, 4:06.03, 2002), 1; Chanda (DEL) 4:18.24, 2; KM Deeksha (MP) 4:24.34, 3.

4x100m Relay: Railways: 45.84, 1; Tamil Nadu, 47.06, 2; Telangana 47.18, 3.

High Jump: Swapna Barman (RLY) 1.78m, 1; Gracena G Merly (TN) 1.76m, 2; Rekha (HAR) 1.76m

Shot Put: Kiran Baliyan (UP) 16.99m, 1; Manpreet Kaur (PUN) 16.40m, 2; Manpreet Kaur (RLY) 16.35m, 3.

20km Race Walk: Sonal Sukhwal (RAJ) 1:42:15.00, 1; Ravina (RLY) 1:44:17.00, 2; Payal (UTK) 1:48:12.00, 3.