Guwahati: At the 36th National Games in Gandhinagar, pole vaulter Rosy Meena Paulraj of Tamil Nadu reached new heights to compete alongside weightlifter and fellow statemate N Ajith.
To beat VS Surekha’s 2014 and 2015 National Games records, Rosy Meena Paulraj, 24, improved her personal best from 4.00 to 4.20 metres after getting into a nice rhythm. With a lift of 174 kg, Ajith shattered the National Record in the Clean and Jerk, putting track and field athletes’ National Games records to shame.
The biggest winner on the second day of track and field competition at IIT Gandhinagar was the long-jumper Jeswin Aldrin (Tamil Nadu). When he leaped to 8.21m on his third attempt, he initially broke the National Games record. Jeswin Aldrin increased his height to 8.26m on his final effort, while M Sreeshankar, who won a medal at the Commonwealth Games, passed his previous four attempts.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Services), a shot putter, and Muhammed Ajmal (Kerala), a 400-meter runner, both set new National records, but weightlifter Ajith won the day.
Ajith, a railroad worker, won the 73 kg class gold medal with a total lift of 315 kg. Achinta Sheuli’s 173kg national record in the Clean and Jerk was broken with the 174kg performance. He lifted 141 kg in his third attempt at Snatch, giving him an 11 kilogramme lead over the Services lifter He set the bar at 174 kg for the milestone after opening Clean and Jerk with 165 kg on his first try.
Achinta, who represented Services, was a pale imitation of himself. Before finishing a lift of 130 kg, he began with two No Lifts in Snatch. He chose to forego his third attempt at the Clean and Jerk, ultimately winning silver with a total weight of 295kg. Devapreedhan B of Kerala won bronze with a total weight of 281 kg.
Tajinder Pal Singh Toor made a noteworthy comeback to competition after missing the World Athletics Championships in Oregon because to a groyne issue. On his fourth attempt, he first tied the men’s shot put record at the National Games. He then finished the feat with a 20.75m throw.
There were three outstanding instances of athletes maintaining their composure under duress. The Gujarat women’s tennis team defeated Maharashtra to reclaim the gold medal at the National Games. When Ankita Raina and Vaidehee Choudari trailed 2-4 in the first set of the doubles match at the Riverside Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, they ripped off eight straight games.
In a second singles match that she had to win, Ankita Raina first defeated Rutuja Bhosale. The seasoned competitor didn’t let the pressure get to her and lost just one game in the first set. Ankita Raina held on to win the match in straight sets despite Rutuja Bhosale broke her opponent’s serve to take a 3-2 lead in the second set.
Esha Singh, a girl from Telangana, exceeded her own expectations by putting on a strong performance at the National Games, winning the gold medal in the women’s 25-meter pistol event. With 584 points, she first took first place in qualifying, one point ahead of Olympian Manu Bhaker (Haryana). After her ranking match, she needed to prevail in a shoot-off against Vibhuti Bhatia (Haryana).
She scored 26 points to win the medal match against Rhythm Sangwan (Haryana), Abhidnya Ashok Patil (Maharashtra), and Manu Bhaker. Ahead of Manu Bhaker, Rhythm Sangwan won the silver medal with 25, and Abhidnya Patil won the bronze with 19. (10). “I am overjoyed. Winning a gold medal at Nationals is always an honour. Rhythm was chasing after me, so it was a near call. To win gold, I had to remain composed during the final two shots “She spoke.
Shaista Sharma (Delhi) stole the show at the Kensville Golf and Country Club in Dholera nearby with a similar showing of coolness under pressure. She overcame Sarita Tirkey in the Women’s Singles Lawn Bowls final by scoring 9 points in the game’s final four ends to overcome a 12-17 deficit to win 21-17. (Jharkhand).
Back in the track and field competition, Amlan Borgohain (Assam) and Jyothi Yarraji (Andhra Pradesh), who train in the Odisha High-Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, respectively, won the titles of Fastest Man and Fastest Woman of the National Games. In front of a star-studded field, Jyothi won the women’s 100m in 11.51 seconds.
“I didn’t come here thinking of winning or losing. I just wanted to give a good time and today I could come up with my fastest,” said Jyothi Yarraji, who felt Dutee Chand (sixth) and Hima Das (seventh) may not have been in the best of forms.
Jyothi Yarraji was accompanied on the podium by Archana Suseendran (Tamil Nadu) and Diandra Valladares (Maharashtra).
Amlan Borgohain, who set the men’s 100-meter record for the National Games on Friday in the semifinals at 10.28 seconds, ran a tenth of a second slower in the final, but he still finished ahead of the Tamil Nadu duo of VK Elakiyadasan and B Siva Kumar.