Defending overall champion Madhya Pradesh hauled in seven gold medals to soar above its rivals on the third day of the 22nd National kayaking and canoeing championships at the Ulsoor Lake here.
The side shared honours in the women's and girls' sections with Kerala, which earned its first wins with a mighty display on Friday. The SSCB could add only one victory, and remained second with six golds, while MP raised its tally to 12.
Asian champion Betty Joseph was involved in two of Kerala's four wins, first routing the competition in the women's C-2 500m event alongside B. Bincymol, before coming up with a fantastic performance to take the singles (C-1) too. The 21-year-old from Alappuzha, who switched from the kayak to the canoe this year, finished over 12 seconds ahead of MP's Kirti Kewat in the singles.
The SSCB quartet of Amarjeet Singh, James Boy Singh, Johnine Singh and Vivek Kumar remained infallible in the fours, piling the 500m canoeing gold on top of their 1000m success from Thursday.
Local girl Twisha K. Prasad, meanwhile, continued to impress, stoutly defending her junior K-1 500m title with an untroubled six-second triumph.
The results (all 500m, winners only):
Men: C-4: SSCB (Amarjeet Singh, James Boy Singh, Johnine Singh, Vivek Kumar) 1:43.02.
Boys: Junior:C-1: Ajit Kumar Saha (Ukd) 2:09.40. C-4: MP (Rabikanta Singh, Dipjyoti Bordoloi, Amit Kushwaha, Bhuwan Maravi) 1:52.14. K-4: Uttarakhand (Mithun Maity, Raj Singh, Somorjit Singh, Ravinder Kumar) 1:36.69.
Sub-Junior: C-2: MP (Arjun Singh, Nganba Meetei) 2:02.77. C-4: MP (Nganba Meetei, Kapil Kumar, Taibanganba Meetei, Dhanraj Keer) 1:53.91.
Women: C-1: Betty Joseph (Ker) 2:46.86. C-2: Kerala (B. Bincymol, Betty Joseph) 2:32.07. K-1: A. Nanao Devi (MP) 2:11.15. K-4: MP (Seema Dung Dung, N. Lanjenganbi, Sonia Rana, Bidiya Rani) 1:54.85.
Girls: Junior: C-1: Kirti Kewat (MP) 3:01.20. K-1: Twisha K. Prasad (Kar) 2:17.43. K-2: Kerala (Shyalu Prakash, C.T. Justymol) 2:11.29. K-4: Kerala (T.A. Nithya, A.T. Sheebamol, Shyalu Prakash, C.T. Justimol) 2:01.51.
Sub-Junior: K-2: MP (Sushila Chanu, Jeena Devi) 2:22.63.
