Indian athletes dominated the inaugural South Asian junior championships which concluded at Sugathadasa Stadium in Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Friday (30 Nov).
The champion team won 21 titles out of 29 events contested in the two-day meet. Sri Lanka’s Shehan Ambepitiya and India’s Jessy Arulappan had sprint double in the boys and girls divisions respectively.
Dhiraj Kumar Mishra and Deepan Kumar of India registered notable marks (15.78 and 15.76m) to gain the top-two spots in the junior men’s Triple Jump. Their teammate Krishna Kumar Rane leaped to a personal best 7.45m for gold in the Long Jump, while the host’s Sajith Nadeshan was 9 cm short for the silver.
Among the girls, the Island nation’s South Asian Games gold medalist Dulanjali Ranasinghe equalled her five-month-old national junior record (1.75m) to win the High Jump. Kavya Muthanna (India) was second at 1.72m.
Manpreet Kaur (17), the sensational shot putter from India who had a creditable ninth place finish in this year’s World Youth championships at Ostrava, once again proved her mettle by winning the event with a modest 13.76m throw.
Discus thrower Priyanka Bhanot got the first major title of her career. The bronze medalist at the South Asian Games at this venue last year, she is incidentally the daughter of two of India’s finest throwers, Vijayamala and Lalit Bhanot, presently the secretary of Athletics Federation of India.
Following the tradition of their predecessors, Sri Lankan athletes clinched gold in the boys’ 400m and High Jump, as well as in the girls’ Javelin Throw. This apart they also conquered sprint relay titles in both the sections. Overall they finished second with eight gold, an equal number of silver and 18 bronze medals. India stood top at the medal tally with an amazing 45 medals (21-19-5).
The newly introduced regional championship served as a ‘gateway’ for those aspirants looking for glory in the forthcoming World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for the IAAF
Leading Results:
Junior Men:
100m (30) [w: 1.6]:
1. Shehan Ambepitiya SRI 10.69; 2. Hemant Kirulkar IND 10.73; 3. A. Daham Madawa SRI 10.83
200m (29) [w: -3.2]:
1. Shehan Ambepitiya SRI 21.91; 2. Aji Amir Murad PAK 22.07; 3. R.P. Ashan Hasaranga SRI 22.50
400m (30):
1. C. Saman Kumara SRI 49.05; 2. Jaspal Singh IND 49.07; 3. Nuwan Abeywickrama SRI 49.12
800m (29):
1. Prakash Verma IND 1:52.99; 2. A.M.E.G.K.D. Abeysinghe SRI 1:53.43; 3. Dilhan Aloka SRI 1;54.45
1,500m (30):
1. Pandala Trinadh IND 3;57.05; 2. Prakash Verma IND 4:01.43; 3. A.M.E.G.K.D. Abeysinghe SRI 4:03.59
5,000m (29):
1. Sandip Kumar IND 14:35.85; 2. H.M. Sudesh Prasanna SRI 15:44.47; 3. Vinit Malik IND 16:03.74
110m Hurdles (30) [w: 1.6]:
1. T. Balamurugan IND 14.62; 2. Mohsin Ali PAK 14.65; 3. K.A.D. Ranga Kelum SRI 14.78
400m Hurdles (29):
1. Jithin Paul IND 52.91; 2. Shejil Verghese IND 53.62; 3. P.P.D. Sasanka Rankoth SRI 54.36
High Jump (29):
1. G.M. Udara Silva SRI 2.05; 2. C. Nikhil Chittarasu IND 2.02; 3. Sajib Hossain BAN 2.02
Long Jump (29):
1. Krishnakumar Rane IND 7.45/3.1; 2. Sajith Nadeshan SRI 7.36/1.6; 3. K.G. Sumith Rathnayake SRI 7.08/3.7
Triple Jump (30):
1. Dhirajkumar Mishra IND 15.78/1.5; 2. V. Deepan Kumar IND 15.76/0.5; 3. H.B. Chanuka de Silva SRI 14.86/-0.7
Shot Put (30):
1. Aswani Solanki IND 17.01; 2. Shiv Kumar IND 16.77; 3. D. Srinath Perera SRI 15.10
Discus Throw (29):
1. Dinesh Kumar IND 54.00; 2. Akash Antil IND 51.58; 3. Muhammed Arsalan PAK 48.28
Javelin Throw (30):
1. Samarjeet Singh IND 67.14; 2. Arivoli Chockanathan IND 62.16; 3. R.P. Waruna Lakshan SRI 60.18
4 x 100m Relay (30):
1. Sri Lanka 41.27; 2. India 42.30; 3. Maldives 48.16
4 x 400m Relay (29):
1. India 3:14.56; 2. Sri Lanka 3:15.68; 3. Pakistan 3:32.14
Junior Women:
100m (30) [w: 0.4]:
1. A. Jessy IND 12.15; 2. J.A.N.S. Jayasinghe SRI 12.28; 3. Srabani Nanda IND 12.31
200m (29) [w: -2.1]:
1. A. Jessy IND 25.32; 2. J.A.N.S. Jayasinghe SRI 25.39; 3. Srabani Nanda IND 25.49
400m (30):
1. G. Harathi IND 56.32; 2. Debashree Mazumdar IND 57.22; 3. M.M.P.G.S.K. Samaraweera SRI 58.78
800m (30):
1. S.R. Bindhu IND 2:17.91; 2. Manpreet Kaur IND 2:19.84; 3. K.R.P. Sanjeewani SRI 2:20.61
1,500m (29):
1. Savita Dhankhar IND 4:35.49; 2. S.R. Bindhu IND 4:35.51; 3. W.K.L.A. Nimali SRI 4:46.32
100m Hurdles (30) [w: 2.4]:
1. C.T. Raji IND 14.86; 2. E.S. Sachinthana Perera SRI 14.95; 3. V. Hani IND 15.14
High Jump (30):
1. Dulanjali Ranasinghe SRI 1.75; 2. Kavya Muthanna IND 1.72; 3. Lahiruni Peiris SRI 1.69
Long Jump (30):
1. Mayookha Johny IND 6.01/-1.5; 2. Renu Bala Mahanta IND 5.65/0.1; 3. R. Shyamali Gamage SRI 5.46/0.4
Shot Put (29):
1. Manpreet Kaur IND 13.76; 2. Neelam Jakhar IND 12.95; 3. Devni Madurapperuma SRI 12.42
Discus Throw (30):
1. Priyanka Bhanot IND 45.79; 2. Rinku Rani IND 40.89; 3. W.M.S.K. Weerasekara SRI 37.28
Javelin Throw (29):
1. P.P. Serena Clarance SRI 39.42; 2. P. Asha Mary IND 38.12; 3. Sophia Kispotta IND 36.81
4 x 100m Relay (30):
1. Sri Lanka 47.14; 2. India 47.34; 3. Maldives 52.19
4 x 400m Relay (29):
1. India 3:50.27; 2. Sri Lanka 3:57.62; 3. Pakistan 4:33.63
