Kerala triple jumper Karthik upstages fancied rivals to win gold

Chennai, Aug 22 (PTI) Kerala triple jumper Karthik Unnikrishnan upstaged his more fancied rivals to leap to gold medal in the men's triple jump event on the third day of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships here on Friday.

The 32-year-old Karthik, who won a silver in the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event in Bhubaneswar earlier this month, produced a season's best effort of 16.44m in his sixth and final attempt to bag the top prize on a rain-marred day at the JLN Stadium.

Another Kerala jumper Abdulla Aboobacker was second with 16.37m while national record holder Praveen Chithravel took the bronze with an effort of 16.35m.

The 24-year-old Chithravel, whose national record stands at 17.37m, has already qualified for next month's World Championships in Tokyo after breaching the automatic entry standard of 17.22m. He won a bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 and a silver in the Asian Championships in South Korea in May this year.

The 29-year-old Aboobacker, who won a silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, is also in contention for the World Championships through world ranking quota.

In the men's 110m hurdles, Maharashtra's national record holder Tejas Shirse won gold with a time of 13.60 seconds, while Manav R (14.03 seconds) of Tamil Nadu and Muhammed Lazan (14.08 seconds) of Kerala were second and third respectively.

Shirse, whose national record stands at 13.41 seconds, must have been disappointed not to have clocked a better time to place himself in contention for the World Championships for which 13.27 seconds is the automatic qualification time.

He was making efforts to earn a place through world ranking quota.

"I tried hard on Friday, but missed," Shirse said after the race.

The women's 100m hurdles gold went to West Bengal's Moumita Mondal whose winning time was 13.22 seconds.

Meanwhile, rains interrupted the proceedings twice, delaying the track and field events.

Results: Men 5,000m: Abhishek Pal (Uttar Pradesh) 15:00.83 seconds, Kiran Matre (Maharashtra) 15:01.88 seconds, Rahul (Haryana) 15:07.71 seconds.

110m hurdles: Tejas Shirse (Maharashtra) 13.60 seconds, Manav R (Tamil Nadu) 14.03 seconds, Muhammed Lazan (Kerala) 14.08 seconds.

Hammer throw: Damneet Singh (Punjab) 69.25m, Praveen Kumar (Rajasthan) 64.08m, Gaurav (Haryana) 63.86m.

Triple jump: Karthik U (Kerala) 16.44m, Abdulla Aboobacker (Kerala) 16.37m, Praveen Chithravel (Tamil Nadu) 16.35m.

20,000m Race Walk: Results: Bilin George Anto (Kerala) 1:29:35.12, Mukesh Nitharwal (Rajasthan) 1:30:35.63, Khangembam (Manipur) 1:30:39.24.

4x100m relay: Odisha 39.52 seconds (meet record, previous record 39.88 by Tamil Nadu), Tamil Nadu 39.80 seconds, Kerala 40.55 seconds.

Women: 100m hurdles: Moumita Mondal (West Bengal) 13.22 seconds, Nandhini K (Tamil Nadu) 13.45 seconds, Anjali C (Kerala) 13.68 seconds.

20,000m Race Walk: Ravina (Haryana) 1:35:13.49 (meet record; previous record 1:37:03), Payal (Uttarakhand) 1:40:29.94, Movavi M (Tamil Nadu) 1:41:34.72.

4x100m relay: Tamil Nadu 44.73 seconds (meet record, previous record 45.40 seconds), Karnataka 45.34 seconds, Kerala 46.54 seconds.

Mixed 4x400m relay: Karnataka 3:21.49 seconds, Punjab 3:22.95 seconds, Tamil Nadu 3:23.73 seconds. PTI PDS PDS AH AH