National Open Athletics Championships | Avinash Sable sets new national record in 3000m steeplechase

Another star performer of the competition was Services sprinter Sanjit who added the 200m title to the 100m gold he had won earlier in the competition. Sanjit clocked a time of 21.30 seconds to finish well clear of Punjab’s Gurlal Singh who clocked a time of 21.66 seconds. K Ashok of Services finished with a bronze medal after clocking an identical time of 21.66 seconds but was lost out on a silver medal by virtue of a photo finish.

Meanwhile, Asian Games medalists Arpinder Singh and Dharun Ayyasamy lived up to their reputations at the competitions, winning their respective events.

Asian Games silver medalist Dharun Ayyasamy also lived up to his reputation at the 58th Open National Championships setting a new meet record on the way to winning a gold medal in the men’s 400m hurdles event. ONGC athlete Ayyasamy clocked 49.67 seconds to erase the old mark of 50.16 seconds set by Santhosh Kumar at the 2017 edition of the tournament. In a fast-paced race, Ayyasamy beat Services runner MP Jabir who also went under the old meet record with a time of 50.02 seconds. Railways’ Jashanjot Singh claimed the bronze medal after clocking a time of 50.25 seconds.

In the absence of star thrower Neeraj Kumar, the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw went at a relatively short distance of 76.42m. That throw was recorded by Abhishek Singh of Services. Uttar Pradesh’s Vipin Kasana took silver with a best throw of 76.05m while Sahil Silwal took third place with a throw of 75.38 m.