They are two of the brightest jumping stars in Indian athletics. On a hot, humid Friday afternoon at the Mangala Stadium, there was joy for one and agony for the other as Mayookha Johny and Sahana Kumari presented pictures of sharp contrast.
On the opening day of the Federation Cup, Mayookha not just completed a triumphant return from injury, but booked a berth to the Wuhan Asian meet as well.
She won the gold with a jump of 6.34m on her final attempt, with the qualifying mark being 6.27m. “I am happy to qualify, but happier that I could come up with a decent jump though I was not at my best,” said a beaming Mayookha.
“I was jumping from a 17-stride instead of my usual 21. Though my ligament is better, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be here for this meet, but since this was the only meet I could represent my organisation (ONGC) I didn’t want to miss it.
“It has been a rather long lay-off for me after the Asian Games, so I am glad to be back,” said Mayooka.
Sahana, though, was close to tears as she failed to come near anywhere near her best in front of an adoring home crowd. The gold she won, with a jump of 1.76m, was no consolation.
“This has to be one of the worst performances of my career,” said the National-record holder. “It was just not my day, I guess, and I felt bad because I had been training hard for this meet.
“I wanted to put up a good show in front of my home crowd, which was cheering me nicely.
“But, I must also add that it is not easy to train virtually all alone as I have been without a coach for a year now.”
There was more drama, as Annu Rani, the National record holder in women’s javelin and bronze medallist at the Incheon Asian Games, had to return with ‘no mark’, as she had turned up late and failed in the only attempt she had.
Suman Devi, though, ensured India’s entry at Wuhan with her gold-winning effort of 54.07m.
Early in the day, G. Lakshmanan looked very cheerful after winning the 5,000m with a neatly-judged race. His timing of 13:58.40 also made him the first to qualify for the Asian championship from here.
“My main aim was to meet the qualifying mark,” he said. “I am happy that I did, but I felt I could have achieved a better timing.”
The day’s focus was also on Tintu Luka and Dutee Chand, and the two women comfortably advanced from their heats in the 100m and the 800m. The women’s discus and pole vault proved ‘demonstration’ events, with not enough participants.
The meet’s first winner was L. Surya, who struck gold in the women’s 5000m, but she failed to meet the Asian championship mark.
The results: Men: 5000m: 1. G. Lakshmanan (Army) 13:58.40; 2. T. Gopi (Army) 14:03.17; 3. Suresh Kumar (ONGC) 14:03.28.
Women: 5000m: 1. L. Surya (TN) 16:55.90; 2. P.U. Chithra (Ker) 16:56.29, 3. Preeti Lamba (Har) 16:56.51.
High jump: 1. Sahana Kumari (Kar) 1.76m; 2. Mallika Mondal (Ben) 1.73m; 3. Steny Michael (Ker) 1.70m.
Long jump: 1. Mayookha Johny (ONGC) 6.34m; 2. Shraddha Bhaskar Ghule (Mah) 6.21m; V. Neena (Ker) 6.12m.
Javelin: 1.Suman Devi (UP) 54.07m; 2. Shahejahani (Kar), 49.47m; 3. Rupinder Kaur (Pun) 48.48m.
