Federation cup: David pips NR holder Jeswin for Asian C'ships berth
While Aldrin’s absence from the Asian contingent will be a major talking point, the day also belonged to another star—Dev Kumar Meena, who broke his own national pole vault record with a leap of 5.35m, continuing his impressive run this season
Jeswin Aldrin
KOCHI: National record holder Jeswin Aldrin is set to miss next month’s Asian Championships in South Korea after failing to win the men’s long jump gold at the National Federation Senior Athletics Championships here on Tuesday. Aldrin was beaten by Tamil Nadu’s P David, who clinched the top spot and a probable ticket to Gumi, where the continental event will be held from 27 to 31 May.
While Aldrin’s absence from the Asian contingent will be a major talking point, the day also belonged to another star—Dev Kumar Meena, who broke his own national pole vault record with a leap of 5.35m, continuing his impressive run this season.
The 19-year-old from Madhya Pradesh bettered his previous national mark of 5.32m, set earlier this year at the Uttarakhand National Games. His effort comfortably earned him the gold, ahead of Tamil Nadu duo M. Gowtham (5.15m) and G. Reegan (5.10m), who took silver and bronze respectively. Former national record holder S Siva, also from Tamil Nadu, finished fourth with 5.05m.
Despite his record-breaking performance, Meena fell short of the Asian Championships qualifying mark of 5.51m, set by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
“I wanted to raise the bar, but there was light drizzle and my coach advised against continuing,” Meena said. “I’m a bit disappointed to miss out on the Asian Championships cut.”
On the track, Rupal Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh produced a tactical run to take gold in the women’s 400m final with a time of 52.55 seconds. Tamil Nadu’s Vithya Ramraj, the Asian Games bronze medallist, had built a strong early lead but was edged out at the tape after fading in the final stretch. She clocked 52.81 seconds.
“I just wanted to catch up and shifted to another gear as the first 200m was slow,” said Rupal, who timed her finishing burst perfectly.
Meanwhile, another Asian Games medallist, Jyothi Yarraji, marked a successful comeback from injury to win the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.23 seconds, clearing the AFI’s qualifying mark of 13.26 seconds.
