National Games 2022 | Jeswin Aldrin makes the cut for World Athletics Championship after 8.26m leap

10/03/2022

With a meet record leap of 8.26 metres, Jeswin Aldrin clinched the men's long jump top spot at the National Games 2022. This accomplishment also enabled him to earn a spot at the Budapest, Hungary, venue of the 2023 World Athletics Championships, which is a huge achievement as well.

The victorious leap of the Tamil Nadu long jumper at the IIT Gandhinagar athletics track on Saturday was 0.1m further than the required 8.25m for automatic qualification to the 2023 World Athletics Championships. On his third attempt, Jeswin Aldrin set the National Games record with a leap of 8.21 metres. Murali Sreeshankar, who won silver at the Commonwealth Games, completed his final four tries while Jeswin Aldrin increased his height to 8.26m.

Ultimately, Muhammad Anees Yahiya won bronze with a best leap of 7.92m, while Murali Sreeshankar finished in second place with the best effort of 7.93m. The women's 100m gold medal was won by Andhra Pradesh's Jyothi Yarraji, who upset a star-studded field that included national record holder Dutee Chand and Hima Das.

Jyothi Yarraji holds the women's 100-meter hurdles national record, but she torched the track in 11.51 seconds to claim a historic victory. “I didn't come here thinking of winning or losing. I just wanted to clock a good time and that helped me come up with my fastest race,” said Jyothi Yarraji. The great athletes Dutee Chand (Odisha) and Hima Das were quick to express gratitude and appreciation for their contributions (Assam). Hima Das came in seventh, followed by Dutee Chand in sixth.

“They have always encouraged me and I thank them for their support. I am just happy that I won and don’t think on the lines that I beat them,” Jyothi Yarraji noted. In the day's marquee competition, Archana Suseendran of Tamil Nadu and Diandra Valladares of Maharashtra took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Amlan Borgohain, another holder of a national record, won the men's 100-meter gold medal earlier in the race with a time of 10.38 seconds. The 23-year-old Assamese athlete was more than satisfied with his effort in the medal race despite the fact that he was unable to beat his semi-final pace of 10.28s. “You know, it’s like a stage show, sometimes you perform, sometimes you don’t,” Amlan Borgohain stated.

“In those few seconds, there is no time to think. You simply focus on executing your game plan. I don’t think about the hot weather much. It is the same for everyone,” he explained. The Assam sprinter hopes that his accomplishments would encourage more young people in the northeast to pursue sports.

“We have many footballers, weightlifters and boxers and now we are not so bad in athletics either,” he said.