BHOPAL: After lackluster performance on the first two days of the four-day 49th Indian National Open Athletics Championship three national meet records were set here on Thursday at the Tatya Tope Stadium in Bhopal.
All the NMRs were broken by Indian Railways athletes who continued to steamroller the opposition and remain at the top of the medal tally. The three NMRs were established in men’s 400 meters hurdles by Joseph G. Abraham, in men’s triple jump by Ranjith Maheshwari and in the women’s pole vault by V. S. Surekha.
At the end of the penultimate day of the championship Railways had garnered 16 gold, 14 silver and 9 bronze medals and were way ahead of other teams. Services with four gold, one silver and four bronze while Kerala with three gold, three silver and four bronze medals were placed second and third in the medal tally.
Joseph Abraham continued his good show by taking his fifth straight win in the 400 meters hurdles in the domestic competitions this year. Abraham, Railway’s top male athlete, broke the Sahib Singh’s record of 50.43 seconds in the 400-m hurdles of the year 1998, clocking 50.26 sec to set the new meet record and finish with the gold. Although Joseph broke the record he was way off his personal best of 49.51s which he had set as a national record in 2007.
“I’m surprised with my time, but I’m very happy to beat the meet record,” said Abraham after the race. “I am really in a good tune and I know that I have to give at least my personal best to win the gold medal at the 18th Asian Athletics Championships to be held Nov. 11 to 15 in China,” he added.
His teammates Avin A. Thomas and Satinder Singh clocked 50.70 and 51.52 to win the 400-m hurdles silver and bronze medals.
Meanwhile, V S Surekha of Indian Railways also established a new meet record in the women’s pole vault with a leap of 4.00 meters. Surekha also attempted a height of 4.10m in a bid to break her own national record of 4.08 meters but couldn’t succeed to cross the bar in all three attempts.
Surekha improved her own mark of 3.85 meters, set in 2006, in the pole vault event to win the gold. Teammates Madhusini Devi, with a jump of 3.50 meters, finished second and Tapsi Nandi, who cleared 3.30 meters, settled for the third spot.
Ranjith Maheshwari, the first Indian who crossed the 17 meters barrier on June 23, 2007 at the second leg of Asian Grand Prix at Guwahati, erased Amarjeet Singh’s national meet record of 16.53m established in October 2007. Ranjith created new meet record with a spectacular jump of 16.68m in his fifth attempt.
His teammate & previous record holder Amarjeet Singh also managed 16 plus jump for the silver. He jumped 16.22m. Saurabh Singh of Indian Police stood third with a jump of 15.37 meters.
