Ajai Raj Singh Rana finishes fifth in javelin throw at World Athletics U20 meet
Ajai Raj Singh Rana’s fellow Indian athlete Jay Singh finished sixth in the javelin throw final. Shaili Singh made it to the final of the women’s long jump.
India’s Ajai Raj Singh Rana recorded a fifth-place finish in the men’s javelin throw event at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday.
Ajai Raj Singh Rana’s best attempt of 73.68m, which came in his fourth throw, was far behind his personal best of 74.75m.
Fellow Indian Jay Singh finished sixth with a best throw of 70.74m.
Finland’s Janne Laspa was crowned the U20 world champion with a best throw of 76.46m. Ukraine’s Arter Felfner (76.32m) won the silver while Nigeria’s Chinecherem Nnamdi (74.48m) clinched bronze.
In the morning session, India’s Shaili Singh made it to the final of the women’s long jump with a best attempt of 6.40m, giving her top spot in the qualification round.
Direct qualification to the final was set at 6.35m and Shaili Singh was one of only three long jumpers to achieve the mark. The 12 best performers will compete in the final on Sunday.
India’s Nandini Agasara, meanwhile, was unable to progress to the women’s 100m hurdles final after finishing sixth in 14.16 seconds in the second semi-final.
She had earlier earned direct qualification to the semis after finishing fourth in her heat.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Tejas Shirse finished fifth in heat 3, clocking 13.87 seconds. The top three from each heat, along with the next four fastest hurdlers, made it to the semi-finals.
Tejas Shirse finished 17th overall in the heats, with the final semis spot going to Cameroon’s Jorim Bangue, who clocked 13.80 seconds.
India’s Pooja finished 11th in Heat 1 of the women’s 1500m, with a timing of 4:37.85. It gave her 19th place overall, with only 12 runners progressing to the semi-finals.
The 19-year-old Shanmuga Srinivas finished fifth in heat 2 of the men’s 200m, clocking 21.33 seconds. A top-four finish would have given him direct passage to the semi-finals.
Srinivas’ timing was only good enough for 23rd place overall and he missed out on the semis by 0.02 seconds.
In the afternoon session, Sunil Joliya finished 11th in heat 2 of the men’s 3000m steeplechase, with a timing of 9:49.23, which was way short of his personal best of 8:55.48. Sunil Joliya placed 22nd overall, missing the final cut by almost 20 seconds.
India has already opened its account at the World Athletics U20 Championships, winning the bronze medal in the 4x400m mixed relay on the opening day.