CHENNAI: Last week, S Dhanalakshmi ran 200m in 23.26 seconds at the 7th International Sprint and Relay Cup in Turkey. She did that with a headwind of 4.3 (a headwind makes it more challenging). Coach, Galina Bukharina, name-checked that very specific run two days before the beginning of the 61st national inter-state athletics championships.
At first glance, all of this seems utterly unremarkable. The TN athlete specialises in the longer of the two sprints. According to the World Athletics website, the athlete, who turned 24 last Sunday, has run a bunch of 200m events with the best being 23.14 seconds in Patiala in 2021.
But the athlete, over the best part of the last year, either by chance or by design, is gradually being converted to a 400m runner. She ran the distance at the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) trials in 2021 which ultimately saw her make the Olympics squad (she finished third in the 400m trials) as a reserve member in the mixed 4x400m relay squad. It was, to put it mildly, a surprise even for her because she thought she would be on the bus but in the 4x100m relay contingent.
On Friday, in brutal humidity and zero wind, there was another first for the TN girl. She ran her first recorded 400m ever (outside of trials) on the opening day of the inter-state competitions. For the purposes of record-keeping, her 54.04 seconds will be marked as a personal best at least as far as the World Athletics website is confirmed. But it wasn’t even enough to be one of the three fastest athletes in the semifinal she ran.
Even if her timing wasn’t all that impressive, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will not mind this experiment because of what’s at stake.
With several members of the mixed relay squad suffering from injury or a loss of form, there could be a few spots up for grabs in the next cycle. Considering Dhanalakshmi comes with the highest form of recommendation — Bukharina — this could be the first of many one-lap races Dhanalakshmi may run in the next few months. With no breeze on Friday and undue delays, timings of most athletes were down. On Saturday, when the Trichy athlete runs in the final alongside Priya Mohan and Rupal Chaudhary, two of the rising quarter-milers in the country, she will be hoping for better conditions.
Baranica jumps to glory
Tamil Nadu’s Baranica Elangovan won the women’s pole vault, pipping Rosy Paulraj and Pavithra Venkatesh in a 1-2-3 for TN. The event that went well over 90 minutes saw Baranica jump 4.05m, a new inter-state record eclipsing the 4.00m set by Kjvati Vakharia in 2013. Baranica, a ward of R Milber, did attempt to break that in her final effort but it proved to be too much for her.
Results (only finals)
Men: 10000m: Abhishek Pal (UP) 29:55.51, Gulveer Singh (UP) 29:55.71, Dharmender (Raj) 29:55.84.
Women: 10000m: Sanjivani Jadhav (Mah) 33:16.43, Prajakta Godbole (Mah) 33:59.34, Kavita Yadav (UP) 35:00.33.
Pole vault: Baranica Elangovan (TN) 4.05m, Rosy Paulraj (TN) 4.00m, Pavithra Venkatesh (TN) 3.90m.