NEW DELHI: As many as six athletes from the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) have qualified for the prestigious Asian Athletics Championships, which will be hosted in Bangkok from July 12 to July 16, 2023, following the conclusion of the 26th National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi on May 18.
With a time of 53.40 seconds, Priya Mohan won the 400-meter event and was the first to qualify. The 20-year-old's timing from the 2021 Senior National Championships was not better than before, but it was sufficient to ensure that she met the requirements.
Mohan said of her performance, "It is a happy moment for me, but at the same time, I know I have a lot to improve upon. My first senior Asian Athletics Championship will be there, so I want to make the most of the chance. I have profited greatly from my time at IIS, and I continue to master the complexities of competing at the senior level. Season just got started, and I'm eager to sharpen my timing even more. The IIS jumpers contributed significantly to the competition along with Mohan. Rubina Yadav won the high jump event and qualified for the Asian Championships with a jump of 1.80 metres. Abhinaya Shetty took third with a jump of 1.76 metres. Jesse Sandesh won silver in the men's division with a jump of 2.18 metres.
Ancy Sojan, on the other hand, previously had a notable performance in the Indian GP-1 in March when she leapt 6.49 metres. She created a new personal best and won the women's long jump competition by leaping 6.56 metres, exceeding her previous best of 6.55 metres.
Abdulla Aboobacker, who finished second in the jumpers at the Commonwealth Games, won the gold medal with a 16.76-meter leap to advance to the Asian Championships in the triple jump. Karthik Unnikrishnan won silver in the same competition with the greatest leap of 16.44 metres.
Aboobacker stated of his qualification, "I am currently undergoing a rigorous training regimen, and the target this year is to routinely clear the 17-meter mark. It was quite hot, so I had to somewhat alter my plan even though I was also shooting for the national record. The primary goal of breaking the qualification threshold for the Asian Championships has been accomplished, which makes me very delighted. Last but not least, the javelin throw team dominated the Federation Cup, securing two slots in the Asian Championships. Both Rohit Yadav and Manu DP easily cleared the Asian qualification standard of 78.23 metres established by AFI in their respective second throws of the series to win gold with best throws of 83.40 metres and 82.95 metres, respectively.
In addition to the qualifications, there were some positive outcomes. With times of 14.01 seconds and 14.23 seconds, Madhvendra Singh and Sachin Binu won silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's 110-meter hurdle event. Damneet Singh won the gold medal in the hammer throw during the throw competitions with a personal best distance of 64.91 metres.
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