The first day of the 21st Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships in Dubai saw a strong performance by Indian competitors, highlighted by Deepanshu Sharma winning the gold medal in the men’s javelin.
After throwing a distance of 70.29 meters, Deepanshu took first place, and his fellow countryman Rohan Yadav took second place with a throw of 70.03 meters.
After finishing in 3:50.85 for the men’s 1500m, Priyanshu clinched silver.
Prachi Ankush Devkar finished fourth in the women’s 3000m, missing out on bronze, whereas Ritik won the silver in the men’s discus throw earlier in the morning session.
The first day’s heats saw victory for Indian sprinters and middle-distance runners as well. In the two-lap women’s 800m, Tanvi Malik and Laxita Vinod Sandliea easily advanced to the gold round. After clocking in at 2:09.39 for her 800m heat, Laxita finished second in her heat, and Tanvi finished in fourth place.
Two women’s 400-meter runners, Anushka Dattatray Kumbhar and Sangeetha Dodla, advanced to the medal round. Sangeetha finished second in her 400-meter heat, keeping her hopes of making the podium alive, as Anushka won in 55.75 seconds.
Aman Choudhary advanced to the gold round in the men’s 400-meter heats with a strong performance. To beat his heat, he timed 48 seconds.
Jeyavindhiya Jegadish and Shreeya Rajesh, two Indian women competitors, also made it to the 400-meter hurdles gold round.
The National Centre of Excellence in Patiala discus thrower Ritik had earlier started his chase for the championship with an opening throw of 49.97 meters.
When he tried again, he scored a 52.23-meter mark, which solidified his place in the gold race. In the fifth, sixth, and final try, he scored 50.35 meters, 53.01 meters, and again, no mark. Qatar’s Djibrine Adoum Ahmat won the gold medal with the day’s best throw being 58.04m while Hassan Mubarak Alahsaee of Saudi Arabia took bronze with a throw of 50.41m.
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Source – Rediff
