The crowd roared every time he hit the sand at the Maharaja’s Stadium here on Monday. Tamil Nadu long jumper Kumaravel Premkumar appeared to threaten the eight-metre mark twice at the South Zone junior athletics championship here but each time, he fouled his jump.
The Indoor Asian bronze medallist, who has a personal best of 7.92m which came at the indoor Asian trials in Bangalore early this year, could manage only a best of 7.52m, his opening effort, on a hot afternoon here. But that was enough to better his under-20 meet mark in the event.
“I don’t go after records or target eight metres when I go for my jumps…I just try to do my best,” said the 19-year-old from Thanjavur, who trains under P. Nagarajan in Chennai’s St. Joseph’s Sports Academy.
Easy
Jessy Joseph, as expected, broke the under-18 girls’ 800m meet record while winning the two-lap event by a comfortable margin. The 16-year-old, who has a personal best of 2:10.72s, clocked 2:11.04s to break the year-old record.
Andhra Pradesh’s Shaik Hazi Baba in the under-14 boys’ high jump (1.81m), Kerala’s under-20 shot-putter V.P. Alfin (boys, 16.48m) and Tamil Nadu’s B. Soorya (under-16 boys’ shot put) created the day’s other meet marks.
The results (winners only):
Boys’ under-20: 400m: S. Dharmalingam (TN) 49.09s. 800m: Nithin Chandran (Ker) 1:56.09s. 5000m: Albin Sunny (Ker) 15:55.0s. 10,000m race walk: V.R. Renjith (Ker) 48:03.41s. Long jump: Kumaravel Premkumar (TN) 7.52m NR, OR own 7.48. Shot put: V.P. Alfin (Ker) 16.48m NR, OR 16.43. Javelin throw: S. Ashok Kumar (TN) 55.86m. 4x100m relay: TN (42.65s).
Under-18: 400m: Noah Nirmal Tom (Ker) 50.24s. 800m: Twinkle Tomy (Ker) 1:57.65s. 3000m: M. Kishore (Ker) 9:06.85s. 10,000m race walk: P. Kishore (Ker) 55:05.89s. Long jump: P. Anburaja (TN) 7m. High jump: Sreenith Mohan (Ker) 2.02m. Shot put: Jason Reuben Salins (Kar) 15.53m. Javelin throw: M. Yuva Mohan Raj (TN) 56.95m.
Under-16: 400m: A. Dharun (TN) 50.6s. 3000m: V. Sagar (TN) 9:13.1s. Long jump: P.S. Vishnu (TN) 6.57m. Shot put: B. Soorya (TN) 14.56m NR (OR 14.51).
Discus throw: S. Mithra Varun (TN) 43.15m.
Under-14: Shaik Hazi Baba (AP) 1.81m NR, OR 1.80. Triathlon: T. Hathi Reddy Gnana Prakash (AP) 1744 ps.
Girls’ under-20: 400m: Anilda Thomas (Ker) 58.62m. 800m: K. Aparna (Ker) 2:17.25s. 3000m: M.D. Thara (Ker) 10:26.1s.
10,000m race walk: V.A. Archana (Ker) 1:03.2s. Long jump: Manisha (Kar) 5.60m. High jump: Anita Mathew (Ker) 1.65m. 4x100m relay: TN (49.07s). Javelin throw: K. Rashmi (Kar) 41.72m.
Under-18: 400m: Beryl Hudson (TN) 57.98s. 800m: Jessy Joseph (Ker) 2:11.04s NR, OR 2:11.7. 3000m: P.U. Chitra (Ker) 10:39.4s. High jump: S. Shibani (TN) 1.55m. Shot put: K. Subhashini (TN) 12.60m. Discus throw: M. Mahalakshmi (TN) 38.52m. Javelin throw: C.K. Prajitha (Ker) 38.40m.
Under-16: 400m: T.P. Shaharbana Sidhique (Ker) 57.97s. 3000m: C.B. Archana (Ker) 10:57.8s. Long jump: Rochelle Maria MacFarlene (TN) 5.49m. Shot put: G.K. Namitha (Kar) 12.98m. Javelin throw: M. Priya (TN) 35.24m.
Under-14: High jump: Gayathri Sivakumar (Ker) 1.50m. Triathlon: S. Priyadharshini (TN) 1584 pts.
