Indian Athletics Series: Kiran Pahal wins women's 400m in Surat
Surat, June 16
Haryana's international runner Kiran Pahal was a comfortable winner in the women's 400m in the 12th leg of the Indian Athletics Series held in Surat on Tuesday. Kiran Pahal, 25, clocked 53.49 seconds to secure his place atop the podium.
Kiran's season best of 52.89 seconds was clocked recently at the Ludhiana leg of the Indian Athletics Series. She competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and has a personal best of 50.92 seconds for the 400m.
The men's 400m title went to Pradeep S. of Tamil Nadu. His winning time was 48.41 seconds.
Haryana's Naveen Kumar Dagar made a comeback to competition after a long gap. He won the men's 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:09.80 secs.
Charu Shoukeen of Delhi emerged as the fastest female in the event, winning the women's 100m in 12.29 secs. Heeral Johri of Madhya Pradesh finished second in 12.56 secs while Chaarvi Poojari of Uttar Pradesh took the third spot in 12.79 secs.
Results:
Men: 400m: Pradeep S (Tamil Nadu) 48.41 secs, Brajesh Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 48.70 secs, Vedant Sananse (Maharashtra) 48.85 secs.
800m: Nilkantha Ray (Army) 1:50.45, Shiva Tomar (Uttar Pradesh) 1:50.78, Aman Kumar (Haryana) 1:51.98.
400m hurdles: Nikhil Bhardwaj (Navy) 52.69 secs, Sunil Mourya (Maharashtra) 52.92 secs, Rakshith R (NCOE Bangaluru) 53.80 secs.
3000m steeplechase: Naveen Kumar Dagar (Haryana) 9:09.80 secs, Ashish Pal (All India Police) 9:21.28 secs, Raj Kumar (Uttar Pradesh) 9:21.85 secs.
Long jump: Avinash Kumar (Haryana) 7.72m, Lakhveer Singh (Punjab) 7.58m, Bhupender Singh (Railway Sports) 7.56m.
Triple jump: Jay Shah (Maharashtra) 15.68m, Vivek Gupta (Maharashtra) 15.44m, Bhuva Kailas (Gujarat) 14.78m.
Javelin throw: Aditya (Haryana) 67.74m, Sarvesh Bharat (Maharashtra) 66.40m, Nitesh Yadav (Army) 65.05m.
Women
100m: Charu Shoukeen (Delhi) 12.29 secs, Heeral Johri (Madhya Pradesh) 12.56 secs, Chaarvi Poojari (Uttar Pradesh) 12.79 secs.
400m: Kiran Pahal (Haryana) 53.49 secs, Akanksha Gavade (Maharashtra) 58.70 secs, Rama Tanwar (Rajasthan) 1:02.21 secs.
800m: Amandeep Kaur (Punjab) 2:18.88, Anjali (Uttar Pradesh) 2:19.94, Anuva Das (West Bengal) 2:20.15.
3000m steeplechase: Kumari Parru (Rajasthan) 11:05.58 secs, Saloni (Rajasthan) 11:12.84 secs, Mori Vandana (Gujarat) 11:17.08 secs.
Triple jump: Aleena T Saji (Kerala) 12.88m, Arshdeep Kaur (Punjab) 12.67m, Jenimol Joy (All India Police) 12.42m.
U20
Men: 100m: Sarthak Rajendra (Maharashtra) 11.26 secs, Archit Sanjay (Maharashtra) 11.53 secs, Ved Patel (Gujarat) 11.89 secs.
400m: Himanshu Rajendra (Gujarat) 47.66 secs, Sagar Saini (Haryana) 48.74 secs, Ranjeet (Madhya Pradesh) 49.15 secs.
800m: Rohit Bhil (Gujarat) 2:01.15, Umesh Tamkhane (Maharashtra) 2:11.27, Aman Kumar (Haryana) 2:11.98.
U20:
Women: 100m: Kajal (Gujarat) 12.02 secs, Vala Roshanba (Gujarat) 12.17 secs, Mihika Vaibhav (Maharashtra) 12.99 secs.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Pradeep S from Tamil Nadu taking the men's 400m! South Indian athletes are really stepping up. And nice to see Naveen Kumar Dagar making a comeback after a long gap - 9:09.80 in steeplechase is impressive. Indian athletics is definitely improving, but we need more grassroots development.
As someone who follows athletics internationally, these times are encouraging but still far from world-class. Kiran Pahal's 50.92 PB shows potential, but consistency is key. The U20 results are promising though - Kajal's 12.02 in the 100m is a good sign for the future. Keep pushing!
One small suggestion - these athletics series events need better coverage. Many people don't even know these meets are happening. Also, I noticed that most winners are from Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Army/Navy. Need more states to invest in athletics infrastructure. 😅
Good performance by Kiran Pahal but I wish the timing was closer to her season best of 52.89. Still, winning is winning. The U20 girls' 100m is very competitive - Kajal and Vala Roshanba both under 12.20 seconds! Future Olympic medalists in the making in sha Allah. 🌟
Respectfully, while I appreciate these series, the level of competition needs to improve. Look at the men's 400m - winning time of 48.41 is far from where we need to be internationally. Also, where are the foreign competitors? These could be more competitive if we invite athletes from other Asian countries.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.