Sushmita finishes fifth in heptathlon

Sushmita Singha Roy slipped from second place on the first day in the gruelling heptathlon to fifth when the event was completed.

The Indian accumulated 5328 points (100m 14.46s, high jump 1.70m, shot put 11.64m, 200m 25.61s, long jump 5.59m, javelin 36.73m, 800m 2:24.85). Teammates Navpreet Kaur finished sixth (5217) and Liksy Joseph seventh (4989).

Dutee Chand clocked the fastest time (23.76s) among three Indian qualifiers in 200m, as Srabani Nanda (24.20) and Asha Roy (24.01) booked final berths along with five others.

Pole vaulters Khyati Vakharia (3.90m) and V.S. Surekha (3.80) occupied positions eight and nine in the field event which saw a meet record established by the Chinese Li Ling (4.54m).

Fourth place in 4x100 relay

In the 4x100 relay India’s time (45.03s) was good enough for a fourth place, anchor leg runner Asha Roy having too much lead to cover up, after S. Sini, Merlin Joseph and Srabani Nanda had done their part.

Shot-putters Neha Singh (13.73m) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (12.91) were eight and ninth. India’s entry was restricted to two competitors after Udaya Laxmi was suspended for earlier doping offence.

The javelin throw saw Annu Rani in seventh (52.29m), Suman Devi 11th and Mukesh Kumari ending up 13th.

In the men’s section, the competition for three Indian strongmen in the hammer throw was too strong, resulting in eighth place for Chandrodaya Singh (67.42m) with his third throw. Kamalpreet Singh was 11th (63.18) and Kaushal Singh 13th (60.65). — Special Correspondent