BHUBANESWAR 22-Apr-2019
After a dazzling start, which saw her better own 100m National Record twice in two days, Dutee Chand, India’s fastest woman from Odisha, came a cropper in the final as she finished a poor fifth on the second day of the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar today.
Dutee started the day on a sparkling note as she won her semifinal race with a timing of 11.26 seconds. In the process, she rewrote her own National Record of 11.28 seconds, which she had set in the hits of this championship yesterday.
But the final proved to be an anti-climax for Dutee, who missed out on a medal after finishing fifth, clocking 11.44 seconds. Olga Safronova (Kazakhstan) won the gold with championship record of 11.17s, while Liang Xiaojing and Wei Yongli (both China) took the silver and bronze, clocking 11.28s and 11.37s respectively.
The second day, however, proved to be satisfying for India, fetching two gold, one silver and two bronze medals. With five medals on Day-Two, India maintained its third place in the medals table, taking the total to 10, which include two gold, three silver and five bronze.
Gomathi Marimuthu won the first gold for India in women`s 800m race, clocking a personal best of 2:02.70. The second gold was bagged by Tejinder Pal Singh Toor in men’s shot put with a season best effort of 20.22m. By virtue of winning Gold medal, Tejinder qualified for World Championships, which would also take place at Khalifa International Stadium, Doha from 27th September to th October, 2019.
Shivpal Singh secured the lone silver medal of the day in men’s javelin throw with a personal best effort of 86.23m. Saritaben Gayakwad claimed one bronze medal in women`s 400m hurdles with a timing of 57.22s, while the other bronze was captured by Jabir MP in men`s 400m hurdles with a personal best timing of 49.13s.
