DOHA , APR 24,
Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Vornina upset Asian Games champion Swapna Barman and won the women’s heptathlon gold with a world-leading 6198 points in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha .
Swapna had personal bests in the 200m and the shot put and topped the high jump but she appeared to have lost some crucial points in the javelin throw, where she could manage only 46.83m which was way behind her personal best of 50.63m in the event.
“I’m not very happy, I am not pleased with my javelin throw result. My preparations were not good, I’m an injury queen, you know…had a problem with my ankle,” said 22-year-old from West Bengal who had a total of 5993 points.
Ekaterina had finished fifth at the Jakarta Asiad.
Parul fifth
Meanwhile Parul Chaudhary finished fifth in the 3000m steeple chase (time 10:03.43s), an event won by Bahrain’s Kenya-born Yavi Winfred Mutile in 9:46.18s for her second title at these championships. Dutee Chand, who had finished fifth in the women’s 100m on Monday, brushed away the disappointment by winning her 200m semifinal heats in 23.33s.
There was some disappointment with news coming in that Asian Games champion Jinson Johnson was not fit to run the men’s 1500m. Jinson had pulled out near the last curve on Monday night in the men’s 800m which was won by Qatar’s Abdalla Abubaker in a world-leading time of 1:44.33s.
Asian Games champion Tajinder Pal Singh Toor lived up to expectations and brought the country’s second gold at these championships by taking the men’s shot put title with an opening-round throw of 20.22m, his best this season.
“I started well but lost my rhythm in between. A throw beyond 21m is the target, will be happy if that comes at the Worlds,” said Tajinder.
Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu won the men’s 100m in 10.10s and emerged as the fastest man while Kazakhstan’s Olga Safronova was the fastest woman in 11.17s.
In the men’s triple jump, where Uzbekistan’s Ruslan Kurbanov surprised China’s Yaming to take the gold with 16.93m.
The young Praveen Chithravel could not produce a single legal jump and finished with a ‘no mark’.
