J. Coleshiya of Tamil Nadu managed to slip past Kerala’s Sandra Babu in her last two attempts to claim gold on the opening day of the Khelo India School Games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday. Sandra finished second with a jump of 12.27m in her second attempt, a mark that was first equalled by Coleshiya and then overtaken by two centimetres to clinch gold.
Coleshiya’s statemate C. Praveen took the honours in the boys’ section of the event with a clear jump of 15.22 metres, way ahead of second-placed Sachin Gujjar from Uttar Pradesh. In fact, Praveen’s other two attempts were 14.89m and 14.78m, both much better than Gujjar’s best jump of 14.46m who took the silver. Akash Varghese finished third with 14.44m as Tamil Nadu took top spot in the standings with five medals on Day One.
In shot put, Haryana’s Pooja won gold with a throw of 13.88m. Pooja actually managed five throws over 13m while the other two podium finishers — A Jenci Susan and Rekha — could only manage one each to finish second and third respectively. Among the boys, MP’s Kartikay Deswal’s final effort of 18.29m was not enough to displace Abhishek Singh from the top spot, the latter finishing with an impressive series of 18.02m, 18.38m, 18.73m & 18.54m throws.
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Earlier, Uttarakhand’s Anu Kumar became the first gold medallist of Khelo India, winning the boys 1500m in four minutes, 4.77 seconds.
Gujarat’s Karthiriya Shraddha was initially named the winner in the girls’ section but was later deemed to have participated as a pacer and therefore did not qualify for the winner’s spot. Kerala’s Chantini C was eventually declared the winner in 4:50.81.
The Games were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The results: Boys: Shot Put: Boys: 1. Abhishek Singh (18.73m), 2. Kartikey Deswal (18.29m), 3. Ashu Dalal (17.32m); Triple Jump: 1. C. Praveen (15.22m), 2. Sachin Gujjar (14.46m), 3. Akash M. Varghese (14.44m); 1500m: 1. Anu Kumar (4:04.77), 2. B. Mathesh (4:06.45), 3. Sandeep Kumar (4:08.73).
The results: Girls: Shot Put: 1. Pooja (13.88m), 2. A. Jenci Susan (13.39m), 3. Rekha (13.20m); Triple Jump: 1. J. Coleshiya (12.29m), 2. Sandra Babu (12.27m), 3. P.M. Thabitha (11.95m); 1500m: 1. Chanthini C (4:50.81), 2. Pragati Mulane (4:52.51), 3. Pallavi Jagadale (4:59.02).