Orissa sprinter disappoints in World meet

One of Orissa`s most promising athlete Ranjita Mahanta finished sixth among eight competitors in the girls’ 100 meter hits on the opening day of the 6th World Youth Athletics Championship at Bressanone in Italy today. The event featured a total of eight hits and top three finishers in each hit along with eight firstest timers qualified for the quarterfinals. Ranjita clocked an unimpressive 12.75 seconds, which is 0.37 seconds more than her recent National gold winning time of 12.38 seconds. Of the two Orissa athletes, representing India in the World Youth meet, Amiya Mallick will compete in the boys’ 200 meter hits on Friday. Both Ranjita and Amiya won gold medals in the National Youth Athletics Championship at Madurai recently.