The Hindu : Good start by Indians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 10, 2002

Sport

Sport - Athletics

Good start by Indians

By K.P. Mohan

Li Yanfeng of China, who won the discus gold, seen with Harwant Kaur (left) and Swaranjit Kaur (right) of India, who won silver and bronze medals at the Asian athletics championships in Colombo on Friday.— Photos: Rajeev Bhatt

COLOMBO AUG. 9. India had a profitable opening day in the 14th Asian athletic championships with a haul of four medals even as the Chinese showed their depth in the women's throwing events by claiming both the gold medals, with a record to boot in hammer, at the Sugathadasa Stadium here on Friday.

The other gold on this lean first day's programme expectedly went to Qatari Ahmed Ibrahim Warsama, in the slowest 10,000m ever in the continental championships, at 30:31.5.

The Indian collection comprised a silver-bronze effort through Harwant Kaur and Swaranjit Kaur in discus, a bronze for Hardeep Kaur, India's first medal in women's hammer, and an unexpected bronze for the 24-year-old Armyman from Pune, Jagannath Lakade, in the 10,000m.

The credit for bettering the first Asian record in these championships went to Chinese Gu Yuan who won the hammer gold in the morning with an outstanding effort of 71.10 metres. That mark put her among the top 10 in the world for the season apart from bettering the record countrywoman Liu Yinghui had set during a National Grand Prix meet in Shanghai on May 18 this year.

Gu Yuan, who as a 16-year-old had won the title in Fukuoka in 1998 when women's hammer was introduced in the Asian championships, said that she was confident of winning. If not here, she had set her sights on the Busan Asian Games for which she had gained selection.

Liu Yinghui, three years older than Gu Yuan, had snatched the record the latter had set at the National Games in Guangzhou last November, at 66.97 with her effort at Shanghai. Today Gu Yuan made mincemeat of that record, first touching 68.99 on her second attempt, then 70.92 with the next and the fourth one of 71.10.

``There was nothing that anyone could have come up with against such superiority,'' said India's chief coach, Bahadur Singh, about the complete domination of Gu Yuan. She had a 67.85 and a 66.66 to wind up with and then took her National flag for a lap of honour. There was disappointment for the other Chinese, Wang Xiaoyu who finished fourth with just 57.00. Going into these championships she was lying fourth in the Asian charts with a 62.83.

With a 57.82, Hardeep was lying in second place behind the Chinese, up to the fifth round when Chinese Taipei's Huang Chih-Feng came up with a 58.19. Hardeep went all out on her final throw but fouled. She was disappointed a little that she could not reproduce her best from home, 61.31, complaining about a cold which had been troubling her since going to Manchester. Yet, the Punjab girl who shot into the limelight with a National record of 61.56 at Ludhiana during last year's National Games, should be satisfied as well with her first medal at this level. She had finished fifth last time at Jakarta.

With China preferring to keep its best in women's discus at home and India's Commonwealth Games silver winner, Neelam Jaswant Singh away in Belarus for training, the competition never really rose above the average levels.

Li Yanfeng, the fifth-ranked Chinese this season, had three fouls in her series, but her fifth throw of 60.06 was sufficient to clinch her the gold. Harwant Kaur, coming here with a 60.10 at Bangalore that gave her the third ranking in the season's lists behind Neelam and Chinese Ma Shuli, managed 57.60 on her third attempt for the silver. Swaranjit, out of action during 1999 and 2000 because of a knee operation, was also well below her best at 55.04, but now she has a second bronze from the Asian meet, the first having come in 1995. Harwant had finished fourth last time.

The real surprise in the men's 10,000m was provided by Lakade, the 24-year-old havildar from the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG). The pace was to his liking, though there were a few quick laps past the half-way mark. Ahmed Ibrahim, the 36-year-old Qatari, defending his title knew what he had to do. He planned it with team-mate Awad Aman Majid, occasionally disturbed by lesser runners including the Indians, Gojen Singh and Lakade.

``It was not an ideal time to start the race. Around 9 p.m. would have been all right in this weather. I am just preparing myself for the Asian Games,'' said Ibrahim, about the slow pace.

Nothing mattered for Ibrahim and Majid as they took the gold and silver, with the senior man outkicking his team-mate on the straight for an easy finish. Mohamed Suleiman, the continental record holder in the 1500m, now the manager of the Qatar team, was right at the track-side to rush and hug both Ibrahim and Majid.

Lakade could not have complained either about the pace. He gallantly hung on even as Gojen gave up with about four-and-a-half laps to go and was rewarded with a medal on his international debut. For someone who came into National limelight just a year ago, this is an excellent achievement.

India's Sagardeep Kaur made the 400m final as a fastest loser, while Satbir Singh did so in the men's 400m by coming second in his heat.

India's J.J. Shobha was lying second in the heptathlon standings at the half-way stage with 3354 points, just two points away from leader Svetlana Kazanina. Soma Biswas slipped to the sixth position with a tally of 3222.

The results:

Men: 10,000m: Ahmed Ibrahim Warsama (Qat) 30:31.5; 2. Awad Aman Majid (Qat) 30:33.5; 3. Jagannath Lakade (Ind) 30:51.2.

Women: Discus: 1. Li Yanfeng (Chn) 60.06m; 2. Harwant Kaur (Ind) 57.60; 3. Swaranjeet Kaur (Ind) 55.05.

Hammer: 1. Gu Yuan (Chn) 71.10 (Asian record, previous 68.06); 2. Huang Chih-Feng (Tpe) 58.19; 3. Hardeep Kaur (Ind) 57.82.

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