Prince, Sanjana lead gold rush

The return of the South Asian Senior Athletics Meet after a 17-year gap began in chaos on Friday, as organisers turned off the lights near the practice area while athletes from SAARC nations were warming up.

The presence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and several cabinet colleagues for the opening ceremony further delayed proceedings. Athletes, including men’s 100m champion Chamo Yodasingheghe of Sri Lanka, complained the blackout disrupted their warm-up routines and affected their starts. Normalcy returned only after the laser show concluded and floodlights were restored, allowing athletes to proceed with the march-past and competition.

Once action began, the Indian contingent made a sparkling start. Prince Kumar struck gold in the men’s 5000m final, finishing strongly with a late burst over the final 800 metres to clock 14:22.17s. Sri Lanka’s Vakshan Vicknaraj took silver in 14:23.21, while Nepal’s Mukesh Bahadur Pal claimed bronze. India’s Mohit Choudhary, who had led early, faded to fourth.

Prince admitted he had to fight through calf stiffness in the closing stages. “We wanted to finish one-two, but I had to conserve energy early and then push hard at the end. I’m proud of this gold,” he said.

India dominated the women’s 5000m, with Sanjana Singh (15:38.70s) and Seema (15:40.55s) securing gold and silver respectively, while Nepal’s Santoshi Shrestha took bronze.

SL wins sprint golds

Sri Lanka ruled the sprints, taking both men’s and women’s 100m titles. Yodasingheghe surged ahead in the final 30 metres to win in 10.30s, edging India’s Pranav Gurav (10.32) and Harsh Raut (10.42). “My start wasn’t good as we had to warm up in the dark,” said Yodasingheghe. “But I pushed hard to win.” In the women’s race, Mohd Yamick (11.53s) and Dewa Amasha (11.72s) led a Sri Lankan one-two, leaving India’s Sudeshna Shivankar third.

Gill makes meet record

Samardeep Singh Gill broke the meet record with 19.59m. Ravi Kumar (17.95m) and Sri Lanka’s Mithunraj completed the podium. India’s Yogita (15.85m) and Shiksha (15.83m) finished one-two in the women’s event. In men’s triple jump, Sri Lanka’s Kumarapeli Arac Pasi (16.19m) edged India’s Dinesh V (16.14m). India ended the day on a high, winning the mixed 4x400m relay in 3:20.13s.