S Dhanalakshmi pips Dutee Chand in women’s 100 meters at Federation Cup; Gurindervir Singh bags men’s 100 meters gold
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S Dhanalakshmi
Odisha’s Dutee Chand who began the women’s 100 meters event as the overwhelming favorite at the Federation Cup was stunned by Tamil Nadu’s S Dhanalakshmi who beat her in a thrilling race. The 22-year-old Dhanalakshmi clocked 11.39 seconds to clinch gold while Dutee Chand finished in 11.58 seconds. The much anticipated final was anticipated to be a clash between Dutee and Assam’s Hima Das but the latter was disqualified after a false start.
Finishing third was Archana Suseendran of Tamil Nadu who clocked 11.76. Despite the high quality running on display, the race turned out to be a disappointment for all the racers as none of them could touch the Olympic qualification mark of 11.15 seconds. Both Dhanalakshmi and Dutee Chand proved to be slower in the final than in their preliminary round races as they had clocked 11.38 and 11.51 respectively.
Gurindervir Singh clocks 10.32 seconds
In the men’s 100 meters event, Punjab’s Gurindervir Singh clinched it with a superb run of 10.32 seconds. Elakkiyadasan Kannada of Tamil Nadu came second with 10.43 seconds and Satish Krishnakumar of Mahrashtra came third with 10.56 seconds. Meanwhile, national record holder Amiya Kumar Mallick couldn’t justify his excellent reputation as he finished seventh with 10.75 seconds.
Gurindervir couldn’t clinch Olympic qualification however, as the mark for the same is 10.05 seconds. As a matter of fact, he was slower in the final than in the semi-final where he had clocked 10.30 seconds which is the third fastest time by an Indian in history.
Meanwhile, in the women’s 400 meters event which was held at the same time, MR Poovamma clinched gold by running in 53.57 seconds. Subha Venkatesan and Kiran Pahal came second and third.
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Nevin Clinton
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