With the Asian Games around the corner, India’s track athletes gave a glimpse of their progress at tournaments taking place in Europe.
Gavit Murli Kumar bagged gold in 10,000m at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, Netherlands, by clocking a personal best 28:43.34 on June 9. Kumar’s time was the best by an Indian in the ongoing season. It was also the second fastest time by an Indian ever in the distance, just short of long-distance coach Surendra Singh’s national record of 28:02.89, which he had set at Vigo in 2008.
In Poland, Hima Das clocked a personal best of 23.22 in the 200-metre sprint. For the Assamese sprinter who had finished fifth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 400 metres, it was a jump from her previous best of 23.59 seconds. It was also the second fastest time by an Indian woman in the discipline since Saraswati Saha’s record-breaking run of 22.82 in 2002.
Muhammed Anas also marked his personal best of 20.74 in the 200 metres on his way to winning the race. The 400-metre sprinter had set a new national record of 45.31 seconds at Gold Coast, becoming only the third Indian man to make it to a Commonwealth Games final.
In the 400 metres, Poovamma MR came first with a time of 52.94, followed by Nithyashree at second, who clocked a personal best of 53.27. Vismaya V came in third with a personal best of 53.30 seconds. Arokia Rajiv won the men’s 400 metres with a seasonal best timing of 46.20 seconds.
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