Date:27/06/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/27/stories/2008062755931800.htm

Sport

Women’s relay team books Beijing berth

KORAT (Thailand): The Indian women’s 4x400 metres relay team, showing an incredible improvement of over four seconds from the previous leg, clocked 3:28.29 in the second meet of the Asian Grand Prix series here on Thursday to make sure of its berth in the Beijing Olympics.

Fielding the same quartet that clocked 3:32.55 at Bangkok just three days ago, India cracked 3:29 for the first time since the Athens Olympics. The team comprised Satti Geetha, Chitra, M. R. Poovamma and Mandeep Kaur.

Mandeep did not run the individual 400 metres, preserving herself for the more important — from the Indian team angle — longer relay. With Manjeet Kaur still recovering from her injury sustained at Madurai, it was left to Mandeep to take over the lead role.

In 14th place

India now has an average of 3:30.42 that should place it around the 14th place in the IAAF relay rankings when they are updated next. The top 16 teams in the world, based on their best two timings in 2007 and this year, will make the ‘cut’ to Beijing.

At this point, the qualification meets left in Europe do not show women’s 4x400m relays. The last listed qualifying meet is the final leg of the Asian Grand Prix at Hanoi on June 30.

Assuming that there are no more designated meets for European teams or Australia to make a bid, India should go through, ahead of China (15th, average 3:30.94 with Thursday’s 3:29.75) and Italy (16th, average 3:30.98). The teams currently listed at 15th (Brazil, 3:31.11) and 16th (Canada, 3:31.35) will go out of the qualification bracket.

Since clocking a national record of 3:26.89 in the heats of the Athens Olympics, the Indian relay teams have timed poorer in subsequent years. Last year its best was 3:33.39.

India won five gold, six silver and two bronze medals on Thursday, lower than its seven-six-six haul at Bangkok.

Anju George could manage only a 6.45 for the gold in long jump, a four-centimetre improvement over her Bangkok performance. She had a series of foul, foul, 6.22, 6.35, foul, 6.45.

Baffling

In women’s discus, the slump of the Indians was baffling. Harwant Kaur, who crossed 61 metres at Madurai and 60 at Bangkok, took the third place at 58.58. Krishna Poonia, who has crossed 63 metres this season, finished fourth with 58.12, while Seema Antil’s wretched form continued as she managed just 55.44 for fifth place.

The results:

Men: Race ‘A’ 100m: 1. Liang Jiahong (Chn) 10.35, 2. Suryo Agung Wibowo (Ina) 10.40, 3. Ranapti Dewage Umanga (Sri) 10.55, 5. Shameer Mon (Ind) 10.57; Race ‘B’: 1. Lai Chun Ho (Hkg) 10.39, 2. Vyacheslav Murayev (Kaz) 10.54, 3. Oleg Juravlyev (Uz) 10.57; 400m: 1. Prasanna Amarasekara (Sri) 46.51, 2. Rohitha Pushpakumara (Sri) 46.61, 3. Pojaroen Jukkatip (Tha) 46.65; 1,500m: 1. Naresh Yadav (Ind) 3.49.98, 2. Sandeep Karan Singh (Ind) 3.50.10, 3. Yu Zhiyang (Chn) 3.50.33.

5,000m: 1. Ajay Kumar Patel (Ind) 14.08.42, 2. Kashinath Aswale (Ind) 14.08.45, 3. Semona Julius (Phi) 15.00.07; 110m hurdles: 1.Yin Jing (Chn) 13.72, 2. Suphan Wonsriphuck (Tha) 13.90, 3. Oleg Normatov (Uzb) 13.91; High jump: 1. Wang Chen (Chn) 2.21m, 2. Hari Sankar Roy (Ind) 2.18m, 3. Tsao Chih-Hao (Tpe) 2.14, 4. Benedict Starli (Ind) 2.14; Triple jump: 1. Yevgeniy Ektov (Kaz) 17.07m, 2. Amarjeet Singh (Ind) 16.77, 3. Roman Valiyev (Kaz) 16.66m, 5. Renjith Maheswary (Ind) 16.30; Shot put: 1. Grigoriy Kamulya (Uzb) 18.26m, 2. Satyendra Singh (Ind) 17.97, 3. Polyemg Chatchawal (Tha) 17.31, 4. Om Prakash (Ind) 17.03; Javelin: 1. Qin Qiang (Chn) 74.62, 2. Anil Singh (Ind) 72.63, 3. Imran Muhammad (Pak) 72.14; 4x100m: 1. China 38.81, 2. Thailand 38.94, 3. India 39.70; 4x400m relay: 1. India 3.04.57, 2. Thailand 3:06.05, 3. Sri Lanka 3:08.70.

Women: 100m: 1. Guzel Khubbieva (Uzb) 11.46, 2. Vu Thi Huong (Vie) 11.57, 3. Chen Jie (Chn) 11.65; 400m: 1. Marina Maslenko (Kaz) 51.41, 2. Chandrika Subashini Rasanayake (Sri) 52.36, 3. Anna Gavryshenko (Kaz) 53.12; 4. Sin Jose (Ind) 53.72; 1,500m: 1. Truong Thanh Hang (Vie) 4.15.41, 2. Svetlana Lukasheva (Kaz) 4.16.93, 3. Tini Budiarti (Ina) 4.21.44; 4. Priyanka Singh Patel (Ind) 4:25.83, O.P. Jaisha (Ind) did not finish; High jump: 1. Anna Ustinova (Kaz) 1.91, eq, 2. Noeng-Ruthai Chaipech (Tha) 1.89 and Yeketerina Yevseyeva (Kaz) 1.89, 5. Sahana Kumari (Ind) 1.75; Long jump: 1. Anju B. Geoge (Ind) 6.45, 2. Dinara Belyayeva (Kaz) 6.33, 3. Marstella Torres (Phi) 6.29; Triple jump: 1. Irina Litvinenko (Kaz) 13.88, 2. Yelena Parfyonova (Kaz) 13.82, 3. Thitima Muangjan (Tha) 13.75; Shot put: 1. Li Ling (Chn) 17.90, 2. Zhang Guirong (Sin) 16.77, 3. Iolanta Ulyeva (Kaz) 16.49; Discus: 1. Li Yanfeng (Chn) 61.32, 2. Sun Taifeng (Chn) 58.68, 3. Harwant Kaur (Ind) 58.58; 4. Krishna Poonia (Ind) 58.12, 5. Seema Antil (Ind) 55.44; 4x100m: 1. China 43.26, 2. Thailand 43.38, 3. India 45.07s; 4x400m: 1. India 3.28.29, 2. China 3:29.75, 3. Thailand 3:38.76.