Javelin thrower Rohit Yadav unleashed a massive throw in his last attempt to qualify for the Asian Games with a new meet record, while long-jumper M. Sreeshankar of Kerala displayed amazing consistency to make the cut with his season best on the concluding day of the National inter-state athletics meet at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Rohit, who had achieved his best (83.76m) in Ludhiana earlier this month, recorded four throws between 77m and 80m before hurling the spear to 87.05m in his final attempt to improve his personal best and break Manu D.P.\u2019s four-year-old meet record of 84.35m. He also registered the season\u2019s second best throw in the world behind Sri Lankan Rumesh Pathirage (92.62m).<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though I\u2019ve been throwing 85m-plus during training, my personal best has been improving by little margins. I just replicated how I did it during the training and gave my best in the final throw,\u201d said Rohit.<\/p>\n
Pumped up by his hunch and pushed by his training partner Shahnavaz Khan, Sreeshankar looked in good rhythm and logged five consecutive 8m-plus jumps with his fourth attempt earning him his season best mark of 8.38m at his favourite venue. It was just three cm less than his personal best and meet record achieved here three years ago. It was the seventh best in the world this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe humidity pushed my body. Shahnavaz gave good competition, it was like training with him. The\u00a0fine\u00a0showing of Indian jumpers is a good sign,\u201d said Sreeshankar, whose previous season best 8.15m came in April.<\/p>\n
Sreeshankar\u00a0and his Kerala\u00a0teammate Ancy\u00a0Sojan\u00a0were named the best athletes of the meet.<\/p>\n
Uttar Pradesh (71 points) and Haryana (82) won the men\u2019s and women\u2019s team championship respectively while Tamil Nadu was the overall champion with 138 points.<\/p>\n
The results (finals): Men: 400m (Asiad Q mark 45.97):<\/b> 1. Vishal T.K. (TN) 45.43, 2. Manu T.S. (Ker) 45.60, 3. Jay Kumar 45.73; 10,000m (Asiad Q mark 29:00.00):<\/b> 1. Abhishek Pal (UP) 30:03.88, 2. Sawan Barwal (HP) 30:08.08, 3. Sailesh Kushwaha (Kar) 30:23.13; 3,000m steeplechase (Asiad Q mark 8:36.57):<\/b> 1. Balkishan (Har) 8:50.98, 2. Sharuk Khan (UP) 8:53.18, 3. Shubham Bhandare (Mah) 8:54.90;
\n4x400m relay (Asiad Q mark 3:04.23):<\/b> 1. Tamil Nadu 3:09.32, 2. Karnataka 3:09.51, 3. Kerala 3:09.89; Long jump (Asiad Q mark 7.91m)<\/b>:<\/b> 1. M. Shreeshankar (Ker) 8.38m, 2. Shahnavaz Khan (UP) 8.30m, 3. David P. (TN) 8.06m; Javelin (Asiad Q mark 77.87m):<\/b> 1. Rohit Yadav (UP) 87.05m (NMR, Old 84.35m, Manu D.P., 2022), 2. Yashvir Singh (Raj) 83.72m, 3. Sachin Yadav (UP) 82.32m.<\/p>\n
Women: 400m (Asiad Q mark 53.72):<\/b> 1. Prachi (UP) 53.24, 2. Kiran Pahal (Har) 53.45, 3. Devyaniba Zala (Guj) 53.46; 10,000m (Asiad Q mark 33:50.00):<\/b> 1. Seema (HP) 34:28.75, 2. Soniya (Utk) 34:35.22, 3. Ravina Gayakwad (Mah) 35:44.45; 3,000m steeplechase (Asiad Q mark 9:47.53)<\/b>: 1. Ankita Dhyani (Utk) 9:44.05, 2. Khushbu Gupta (UP) 10:36.47, 3. Kumari Parru (Raj) 10:52.28; High jump (Asiad Q mark 1.80m):<\/b> 1. Pooja (Har) 1.83m, 2. Supriya B. (Kar) 1.80m, 3. Khyati Mathur (UP) 1.80m; 4x400m relay (Asiad Q mark 3:31.23):<\/b> 1. Tamil Nadu 3:35.87, Karnataka 3:36.18, 3. Kerala 3:39.70; Heptathlon (after day two) (Asiad Q mark 5605 points):<\/b> 1. Pooja (Har) 5619, 2. Anamika K. (Ker) 5466, 3. Khushi (Har) 5438.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n