Inter-state meet: Rohit Yadav claims javelin gold to stay in hunt for Worlds | More sports News
Chennai: The final day of qualification for the Tokyo World Athletics Championships put the spotlight on the men’s javelin and long jump events at the Inter-State meet. In men’s javelin on Sunday, Rohit Yadav recorded a personal-best of 83.65m to win gold but it was not enough for the direct qualifying mark.The Uttar Pradesh athlete opened with 77.31m and improved steadily — his third throw proved to be the best, securing him the top spot. While he aimed to surpass the automatic qualification mark of 85.50m, it remained out of his reach. Despite that, Rohit’s performance is expected to place him within the top-36 in the ‘Road to Tokyo’ rankings, keeping his hopes alive for qualification for the Worlds.Sreeshankar Murali (8.06m) from Kerala took the top spot in men’s long jump but his qualification to the Worlds looks unlikely as he could finish just outside the top-36 in the ‘Road to Tokyo’ chart.“I just wanted this season to be a kickstarter for next year, with the Commonwealth and Asian Games coming up. I am not sure if I can qualify (for Tokyo), but I think the season is pretty much over for me. Whatever has happened this season, I will just embrace it because on this day last year, I was not even sure if I would be jumping again,” Sreeshankar said.
Poll
Who do you think had the best performance at the Inter-State meet?
The 26-year-old Sreeshankar returned from an injury break in July and has since competed in five competitions. “I was chasing something (Worlds qualification) that was meant to be achieved over the course of a year. I felt like I could reach the automatic qualifying mark here, but it is fine. Coming into this meet, it was more about physical preparation for me, as I had been away from jumping for the past one and a half years and have been competing continuously since. My body is not used to such heavy volumes, but I was giving it a try.”In women’s 3000m steeplechase, Ankita Dhyani (9:44.83) of Uttarakhand finished first but did not see much improvement in the rankings for Tokyo. She is placed 35th, while the top-36 qualify for the world meet.
