Indian athlete Vithya Ramraj equalled PT Usha’s long-standing national record during her qualification for the women’s 400m hurdles final at the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday. Alongside her, athletes Jesse Sandesh, Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath, and Krishnan Kumar also secured spots in the medal round.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Vithya clinched the top position in her heat, securing the second overall spot with a personal best time of 55.42 seconds, placing her among the top five contenders for the final. Conversely, Kaveram Sinchal Ravi finished fourth in the second heat with a time of 58.62 seconds, failing to advance to the medal round and finishing tenth overall.
In the men’s high jump, despite Jesse Sandesh and Anil Sarvesh Kushare making it to the final, neither of them cleared the automatic qualification mark of 2.26m. Jesse secured the sixth position in Group A with a jump of 2.10m, while Anil finished fourth in Group B with a similar result. Nonetheless, they both managed to secure the tenth and eleventh positions respectively, earning qualification for the medal round. The men’s high jump final is scheduled for 4:30 PM IST on Wednesday, October 4.
Moving on to the men’s 800m final, Mohammed Afsal and Krishnan successfully reached the finals. Afsal, a South Asian Games silver medalist, clocked an impressive time of 1:46.79 minutes to top his heat and overall rankings. Krishnan, an Asian-level silver medalist, secured eighth place overall and the second-best position in heat three with a time of 1:49.45 minutes, earning him a spot in the final. The men’s 800m final will take place tomorrow at 5:55 PM IST.
In men’s 400m hurdles, Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan secured a second-place finish in his heats and overall with a time of 49.28 seconds, securing a spot in the final. Yashas Palaksha also performed well, clocking 49.61 seconds to finish second in heat three and fourth overall, earning a place in the medal round.
India’s performance in athletics has resulted in a total of 12 medals so far, including two gold, five silver, and five bronze. India’s overall medal tally has now reached 55 medals, comprising 13 gold, 21 silver, and 21 bronze. The athletics events commenced on September 29 and will continue until October 5.
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