Inderjeet gives India first gold

Wuhan (China), June 3

Up and coming track and field star Inderjeet Singh bagged the gold medal in the men’s shot put event as India opened the medal account on the first day of the 21st Asian Athletics Championships here today.

Inderjeet, a bronze medal winner in last year’s Asian Games, clinched the gold by heaving the iron ball to a new championship record of 20.41m, which he achieved in his fourth attempt.

Chang Ming-Huang of Chinese Taipei won the silver with a throw of 19.56m, while Tian Zizhong of the home country bagged the bronze with an effort of 19.25m.

Inderjeet, a silver medallist in the 2013 World University Games, went into the championships as the Asian leader in the season so far with his 20.65m effort in the Federation Cup Senior Nationals in Mangaluru last month. He lived up to the expectations by bagging the yellow metal in the showpiece event.

The 27-year-old Bhiwani shot putter, who has already qualified for next year’s Rio Olympic Games, thus became the eighth Indian shot putter to win a gold medal in the Asian Championships, joining Jagraj Singh (1973), Bahadur Singh (1975), Balwinder Singh (1985 and 1989), Shakti Singh (2000), Navpreet Singh (2007) and Om Prakash Singh Karhana (2009).

“I could have come up with a 21-plus throw had the temperature been ideal. In Incheon Asian Games also my throw was less than what I could have achieved. But I have won gold for the country and I am proud of it,” Inderjeet, who had finished fourth in the previous edition in Pune in 2013, said after winning the gold.

In the other finals of the day, Mayookha Johny finished sixth in the women’s long jump with an effort of 6.24m, while Gayathry Govindharajan ended at seventh position in the women’s 100m hurdles with a timing of 13.69 secs.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, national record-holder Siddhanth Thingalaya crashed out in the heats with a disappointing timing of 14.10secs.

Earlier in the morning session, MR Poovamma qualified for the final of the women’s 400m as a fastest runner (52.94secs) in the heats, whereas Incheon Asiad bronze medallist Arokya Rajeev made it through as the fastest loser (46.55s) in the heats in the men’s 400m race.

Long jumpers Ankit Sharma (7.56m) and Kumaravel Prem Kumar (7.51m) and sprinter Srabani Nanda (11.61secs in women’s 100m) also qualified for the finals. — PTI