CHENNAI: Sprinter Animesh Kujur stormed to victory in record time while javelin ace Annu Rani maintained her improved run with a golden performance on Day 4 of the 64th National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Saturday.
Kujur, the National Record holder, added to his reputation with a record run. He stopped the clock at a timing of 20.63 seconds, a mark that was marginally better than the previous meet record — 20.65s — set by him last year.
But it was Rani who dominated the proceedings first with a couple of throws over 60 metres in the women's javelin final. The Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallist began with a throw of 61.05 metres, followed by two sub-60m efforts. She then finished with a 60.14m effort.
However, no Indian is yet to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo via the direct qualification mark in the ongoing championships so far.
Rani later said that she was saving the best for the upcoming marquee event, which is set to be held next month. "I have been competing in back-to-back competitions and managed the load. I felt If I peaked today (Saturday), I would not have anything left in the tank for the World Championships. I will do my best there," she told reporters.
Currently ranked 29th on the Road to Tokyo standings, a clearer picture of her qualification chances will only be known next week. The qualification period for the Worlds will end on Sunday, the same day when this meet concludes.
The fact that she crossed the 60-metre mark, not once but twice, is a welcome boost for her. After some underwhelming throws in the earlier competitions this season, she seems to have found her rhythm. It was just earlier this month in a meet in Poland that she had crossed the 60-metre mark for the first time this season. Having worked on her technique and run-up, she is optimistic ahead of the Worlds. She revealed that she has been getting vital inputs from her coaches — Parveer Singh and Sergey Makarov. "I have been working on my technique, and there's more to work on. But I fancy my chances in the Worlds."
Rani wished she had more rivals to push her during the finals. "If you compete with a good competitor, you get a good fight. So no matter how much I force myself, I am left incomplete. But I am confident that I will do well in the Worlds," she said.
Kujur, meanwhile, was equally dominant in the men's 200-metre dash. The Chhattisgarh-born athlete made an explosive start, thereby setting a sizeable gap between him and his rivals. Tamil Nadu's Ragul Kumar finished second while Amlan Borgohain came third.
The Asian Championships bronze medallist has had exposure tours in Europe and that has been paying dividends. In fact, he had created a national record (100 metres) during the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Competition in Greece.
Martin Owens, his coach at the Reliance Foundation, is stoked with the manner in which he's making progress. "He has had a very long season, we did not expect him to break the national record this season. We are ahead of ourselves from where we predicted at the beginning of the year," Owens told reporters after Kujur’s run.
"We will prepare now for Tokyo. It has been a massive achievement to come this far," he added. Ranked 42 on the Road to Tokyo rankings, Kujur's future will be clear next week.
Kujur has made a habit of re-writing records, having broken three individual national records this season. Moreover, he's also part of the record-breaking relay team. "Going to Tokyo is a bonus for him. Going there, he would have no expectations, but rather he would have experience. He would be rubbing shoulders with the greats of the sport and get a feel of a World Championships," the coach said.
Meanwhile, Dhanalakshmi Sekar continued her golden run after her three-year ban, clinching the top prize in the women's 200-metre finals. High jumper Sarvesh Kushare, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on breaking the meet record with his 2.24m leap just a centimetre away from Chethan B's record which was set in 2018.
In an upset, Samardeep Gill pipped National Record holder Tajinder Pal Singh Toor in the men's shot put final to clinch gold. Gill had a best throw of 19.82 metres while Toor's best throw on the day was 19.41 metres.
Results (Winners): Men: 200m Animesh Kujur (OD) 20.63s (NMR); High jump: Sarvesh Kushare (MH) 2.24m; 400m hurdles: Ruchit Mori (GJ) 49.76s; 800m: Krishan Kumar (HR) 1:48.41s. Women: Javelin throw: Annu Rani (UP): 61.05m; 400m hurdles: Ramandeep Kaur 58.90s; 200m: Dhanalakshmi Sekar: 23.53s; Long jump: Moumita Mondal: 6.27m; 800m: Pooja (HR) 2:02.27s.