CHENNAI: India’s No 1 junior javelin thrower Deepika was the cynosure of all eyes as she bagged a gold medal with a throw off 54.98m (previous record held by S Choudhary 48.08m) and created a new mark at the fourth edition of South Asian Junior Athletics Championship held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Friday.
Poonam of India came second with 51.21m, while WG Nisansala (Sri Lanka) 35.02m bagged the third spot. India’s medal tally swelled to 48 medals and the home team won the overall championship. Sri Lanka finished second with 35 medals. Bangladesh came a distant third with three bronze.
Deepika gripped the javelin in a stable manner, had a smooth run up, her crossovers were precise and her final strides were spot on for a perfect throw. The large crowd consisting of athletes and their families from various nations, the local die-hard fans and former Olympians watching the proceedings in the evening under lights were bowled over by Deepika’s craft. “Very pleased and happy with my performance.
Credit to my coach (Hanuman Singh) and all my teammates for encouraging me to do well,” said a shy Deepika after bagging the gold. Deepika had earlier taken part in the Khelo India Youth Games 2024 in Chennai where she bagged a gold and broke her previous meet record. “The fact that I took part earlier this year in the Khelo youth games in Chennai also helped me as I was aware of the conditions and familiar with the track,” insisted Deepika.
Former Olympian and ace athlete Shiny Wilson who watched the proceedings was impressed by the show of the Indian athletes and praised Deepika in particular. “Good show by our team (Indian). Deepika was brilliant, she gave a good display of her craft. She has the talent and if she works hard can go up the ladder,” said Shiny.
Inspired by her idol Neeraj Chopra, javelin thrower Deepika who is sporting a boyish crop has a knack of breaking meet records. “After Neeraj Sir’s Olympic medals and watching his performance I developed more passion for javelin. I want to step by step improve my game and be like Neeraj sir one day,” said Deepika, with her ambition visible in her sparkling eyes.
The man who is working towards achieving her dream is coach Hanuman Singh, who Deepika trusts blindly. “Deepika used to live next to my academy in Haryana (Fatehabad). She stays half a kilometer away but she is still a dedicated and hard working girl. She has good work ethics and importantly is ambitious.
Without ambition and setting goals, one can never improve. She wants to continuously raise the bar and as a coach it makes my job easier,” said Hanuman Singh. “She is a sincere and dedicated performer. Apart from good technique, she has an abundance of self confidence. She has the ability to grasp things quickly. She is unfazed by the competition and goes about her task in a single minded manner,” Hanuman Singh added.
Results
Men: 200m: 1. R Indusara Vindushan (Sri Lanka) 21.33s (NMR), 2. Pratik Maharana (India) 21.41 s, WM Koushan Thamel (Sri Lanka) 21.44s. 1500m: 1. Priyanshu (India) 3:53.22 s, 2. Rahul Sarnaliya (India) 3:53.64 s, 3. TWM Prashan Buddika (Sri Lanka) 4:03.79s. Triple jump: 1. DMH Kavinda (Sri Lanka) 15.09m, 2. MDS Hansaka (Sri Lanka) 14.92m, 3. Md Tamim Hossain (Bangladesh) 14.75m. 4x100m relay: 1. Sri Lanka (WM Koushan, R Vidushan, W Dineth Induwara, W Merone Julian) 40.28 seconds (Meet record previous 41.27), 2. India (Pratik Maharana, Mahendra Santa, Karthikeyan S, D Mruthyam) 40.76 s, 3. Maldives (Hussain Zeek Suad, M ZU IZ Suad, I Nizaar, M Shamin) 41.98 s. 4 x400m relay: 1. Sri Lanka (U Nethsara, G W Jathya Kirulu, J Shashintha Silva, S Rajakaruna) 3:09.27s, 2. India (Abiram P, Vinod Kumar Banoth, Ankul, Jay Kumar) 3:11.14 s, 3. Bangladesh (B Sheikh, Md Hafizur Raman, M Al Sobur, Md Aslam Sikder) 3:21.50s. Javelin throw: 1. Rohan (India) 69.22m, 2. Dipanshu (India) 68.85m, 3.Dilhara (Sri Lanka) 62.22. Women: 200m: 1. Unnathi Aiyappa (India) 23.91s (meet record, previous record 24.32 seconds by A Suseendran set in 2013), 2. Nancy (India) 24.11 s, 3. Neeru Pahtak (India) 24.91s. 1500m: 1. Vineeta Gurjar (India) 4:33.63s, 2. Laxita Vinod Sandilea (India) 4:37.61s, 3. TKGH Dulanji (Sri Lanka) 4:39.01s. Shot put: 1. Tamanna (India) 14.43m, 2. Pooja Kumari (India) 14.02m, 3. H Isali Malkethmi (Sri Lanka) 10.68m. Javelin: Deepika (India) 54.98m (meet record previous S Choudhary 48.08m), 2. Poonam (India) 51.21m, 3. WG Nisansala (Sri Lanka) 35.02m. 4x100m relay: 1. India (Nancy, Abinaya Rajarajan, N Cornelio, V Sudheeksha) 45.08 (meet record, previous record 46.23 seconds), 2. Sri Lanka (H Sithmini Ranasgal, P Ransini Perera, K Shanani Rashma, S Shanella Anne) 46.48 seconds, 3. Maldives (Hawa Muznna Faiz, Ziva Moosa Shafeeu, Ahinna Nizaar, Mariyam RU) 48.04 seconds. 4X400m relay: 1. India (Sanchin Sangle, Sandra Mol Sabu, Kanista Teena, Neeru Pahtak) 3:44.35 s, 2. Sri Lanka (A Wijethunga, G Sashini Bhagya, D Pravindi, K Takshima) 3:49.99s, 3. Bangladesh (Nusrat Jahan Runa, Azmi K, Mim Akter, Sumaiya Akter) 3:57.37 s.