Rupal, Manu win 400m gold medals
World U-20 bronze medallist Rupal Chaudhary has started the new season with a bang after she clinched the women’s 400m gold at the sixth edition of the Indian Open in Trivandrum on Monday.
The rising star had been struggling with an injury and rehabilitation for the good part of the last two years. On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh track star pulled away from the chasing bunch at the last bend to finish first in 52.41 seconds.
R Vithya Ramraj of Tamil Nadu, who is an Asian Games medallist, finished second with a timing of 53.62s, while Kerala’s Sneha K completed the podium with a time of 54.09s.
Kerala’s Manu TS dominated the men’s 400m race by winning the race with a timing of 46.51 seconds. Manu’s timing on Monday was his personal and also season’s best. Earlier in January, Manu finished third at the Uttarakhand National Games with a time of 47.08s.
Delhi’s international Jay Kumar, who is part of the senior group from this season finished second with 46.93 seconds, followed by Tushar Manna from Delhi, who clocked47.00s.
Other results: U20: Women: 400m: Dhesikha V (Tamil Nadu) 54.54 seconds, Sandra Mol Sabu (Kerala) 54.61 seconds, Isha Rajesh (Maharashtra) 55.44 seconds.
U18: Girls: 400m: Kashish Bhagat (Maharashtra) 56.92 seconds, Gunashya V (Tamil Nadu) 57.62 seconds, Prachi Sharma (Haryana) 58.52 seconds.
Men: 400m race B: Mohit Kumar (Haryana) 47.29 seconds, Jabir Madari PA (Kerala) 47.33 seconds, Subhas Das (West Bengal) 47.43 seconds.
U20: Men: Sharan M (Tamil Nadu) 47.39 seconds, Jerome Sanjay N (Tamil Nadu) 47.49 seconds, Setu Mishra (Bihar) 47.74 seconds.
U18: Boys 400m: Mohammed Ashfaq (Kerala) 47.49 seconds, Yugank Choudhary (Uttar Pradesh) 48.31 seconds, Nitin Gowda (Karnataka) 48.44 seconds.
