Asian Games medal hopefuls fight it out at athletics meet

Deepankar Sharda

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Chandigarh, September 11

The women’s 800m final event witnessed a clash between two promising athletes of the country — Chanda and Harmilan Bains — during the Indian Grand Prix (5) held at the Sector 7 Sports Complex.

The fight remained an exciting affair as both are India’s medal hopefuls in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. Chanda clocked 2:02.68s, followed by the girl from Punjab’s Mahilpur 2:03.96s. Harmilan, who holds the national record in the women’s 1500m, will be competing in two events (800m and 1500m), while Chanda will carry India’s hope in the 800m event in the Asian Games. Interestingly, both athletes have made a comeback from their respective injuries. Chanda has fully recovered from an ankle injury, Harmilan too made a strong comeback after a knee surgery.

A tough journey

Media shy Chanda hails from Mirzapur city in Uttar Pradesh, but represents Delhi. She recently won a silver medal by clocking 2:01.58s in the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. A three-time national champion, Chanda will fly to Bangalore to attend the national camp. “This event was just a trial, and I am happy with the timing. There was no such competition, but if the opponent is Harmilan didi, no race is easy,” said Chanda. On her training for the Asian Games, she said: “It’s going on well. Besides following the national camp routine, I am trying to stick to my routine. My requirements are different from others, and I make sure to follow my routine on a daily basis. After the Asian Championship, I had injured my ankle. But after the race here, I feel perfectly fine.”

During the women’s 800m race of the 62nd National Inter State Senior Athletics Championship, Chanda overpowered Harmilan to emerge victorious and seal berth for the Hangzhou Asian Games. “I really want to win the medal and dedicate it to my coach Kulbir Singh (who is working under the Delhi Government). The competition will be tough, and there’s a lot of pressure. People are having high hopes and I want to see myself on the top position on the podium. So, there’s no scope of leaving anything to chance,” she added.

Huge responsibility

Harmilan was only focusing on running the 1500m full races, before she tried participating in the 800m runs post her knee injury. She is India’s medal hopeful in both 800m and 1500m events, despite having mastered in the latter event on many occasions. “Last year was tough. I knew about my injured knee, but had no clue about the exact problem. I was lucky to come in contact with some corporate houses following which my knee was successfully operated upon,” said Harmilan.

“There was no plan to run the middle-distance races. However, on the path of recovery, I build up interest and improved the timing. I now find it conformable. The timing here is not up to the mark in terms of my target, but still better,” she said.

Earlier this year, she participated in the Birmingham University Grand Prix athletics meet and other events in the UK (Loughborough and Manchester) to test her comeback. Her knee injury kept her away from the Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships. “It was a huge setback for me. I received the letter for the World Athletics Championships on the day of my surgery. Nevertheless, I am looking forward for a comeback and is hopeful of winning for the nation,” Harmilan said.

Bandana shines in 10,000m race

• On the concluding day of the Indian Grand Prix (5), Bandana won the women’s 10,000m race walk event by clocking 52:53.98s, followed by Monika (57:36.87s) and Pinki (58:56.75s)
• In the men’s event, Vivek Rathi (52:27.15s) and Mohit (53:10.04s) excelled
• Shot put: Sahib Singh was the top performer in the men’s shot-put event with a throw of 18.29m, followed by Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal (18.28m) and Paramjeet Singh (17.38m).
• High jump: Rubina Yadav (1.79m), Abhinaya S Shetty (1.79m), Rekha (1.70m)
• Triple jump: Sharvari Avinash Parulekar (12.99m), Niharika Vashisht (12.94m), Kajal (12.20m)
• Hammer throw: Tanya Chaudhary (62.60m), KM Rachna (60.71m) KM Fatma (49.70m)
• Discus throw: Seema Punia (57.96m), Anisha (47.72m)
• 3000m steeplechase: Priti Lamba (9:45.132s), Kajalben Dineshbhai (12:56.12s)
• Long jump: Aditya Kumar Singh (7.62m), Rishabh Rishishwar (7.53m), Sahil Mahabali (7.46m)