THENHIPALAM: Displaying a fine blend of tactical planning and skill, Babita C of Kalladi HS, Kumaramputhur, outwit her opponents and set a new school national record in the senior girls 3000 m race event during the 60th State Schools Athletics Meet, which kicked off at C H Muhammed Koya Stadium at Calicut University here on Saturday.
Finishing at 9 minutes and 37.2 seconds, the Plus Two student shattered the previous record time of 9:54.9, achieved by P U Chithra of Mundur HS in the 2013 edition of the athletics meet. Young talent Anumol Thampi of Mar Basil HSS, Kothamangalam, who gave a tough competition to Babita and finished second, also bettered Chithra’s record on Saturday by clocking 9:39.5. Expecting a tough fight from Anumol, who just graduated to senior level, Babita ran fast to keep up with her and changed gears at the fag end of the race to pip her younger rival to gold.
“I knew Anumol would put up a fast race. I matched her speed and increased mine at the end to outwit her,” Babita said. Two meet records were also created on the day. Amal P Raghav of Mar Basil covered 44.09m in the senior boys discus throw, while pre-match favourite Megha Mariyam Mathew of SAI, Thiruvananthapuram, tossed the iron ball to a distance of 11.59m in junior girls category.
After the completion of 18 events, Ernakulam is leading the tally with 58 points, while Palakkad is close behind with 40. Kozhikode is a distant third with 19. Mar Basil leads among schools with 28 points, while AMHS, Poovambayi, is second with 16 points. With 12 points but more gold medals, St George’s, Kothamangalam is third, while Kalladi HS, which also won 12 points, is fourth.