22-Oct-2009 121
National and meet record holders Anuradha Biswal kept Orissa`s fading flag flying by winning probably the lone medal in the 49th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championship, a top level domestic competition in the country at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai today.
Winning the medal as mother of child, Anuradha made a serious statement that Orissa is no more producing champion athletes of the country. Nalco employee Anuradha won the silver medal in her pet event (women` 100m hurdles), clocking 14.18 seconds, while Tamil Nadu`s G Gayathri took the gold with 13.84 seconds. Anuradha holds the National and meet records for around eight years with timings of 13.38 and 13.44 seconds respectively.
Among other Orissa competitors, Parbati Sethi and Dharmedhar Mahanta finished fifth in women`s discus and men`s 110m hurdles respectively. Parbati threw the disc to a distance of 45.19m, while Harwant Kaur (Punjab) registered a throw of 58.71 to win the gold easily.
Cuttack SAI Hostel trainee, Dharmedhar clocked 15.45 seconds for the fifth position in one of the two heats, featuring eight contenders each and failed to secure a playing among eight finalists. Sandeep Parmar (Maharashtra) won the gold medal in the event with a timing of 14.76 seconds.
