Bhubaneswar, March 25 – Punjab sprinter Gurindervir Singh won the men's 60m gold with a national record time after favorite Animesh Kujur was disqualified in a dramatic final on the concluding day of the inaugural National Indoor Athletics Championships here on Wednesday.
In a fitting end to the two-day championships, the men's 60m final lived up to expectations, as Gurindervir, representing Reliance Foundation and competing in his maiden indoor race, emerged as the fastest runner.
The 25-year-old Gurindervir, a former national record holder in the 100m, clocked 6.60 seconds, surpassing the previous national indoor best of 6.67 seconds, set by Elakiya Dasan of Tamil Nadu in 2018.
However, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) does not maintain an official list of national indoor records.
The race saw three false starts, with the third leading to local runner Animesh being disqualified, much to the stunned silence of the large crowd at the 17,000-seater, state-of-the-art indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium complex.
Animesh, the national 100m and 200m outdoor record holder, was seen speaking to the race officials before leaving the field, visibly disappointed.
Lalu Prasad Bhoi of Odisha finished second with 6.65 seconds, while Nuzrat of Haryana came third with 6.71 seconds.
Besides Animesh, the other two disqualified for false starts were Dondapati Mrutyam of Odisha and Nehal Sagar of Karnataka.
Gurindervir later said that he pleaded with the race officials to let Animesh continue, a request that would not have been possible under the rules.
"Animesh made a false start. I thought that if he continued, I would also run faster, as there would be tough competition. The crowd also supported him. It would have been better if he had run," said Gurindervir.
"So I was asking the race officials to let him continue."
Asked if the three disqualifications affected him, he said, "No, my job was to run my race. I was telling myself that it was okay even if I ran alone."
He added that the 60m race is all about running fast and not about trying to catch someone later.
"It's a short distance. If someone gets ahead of you, you can't catch them. No one knows who will win. Even a world champion can lose."
"The start is important in the 60m, and then just run fast. I have a good block start."
Gurindervir set a national record in the 100m at the start of the season last year, but struggled after that.
"Last year, I also started with a national record. But later, I got demotivated. I regretted a lot of things. I became very negative. It was a bad time for me. But, I am hoping to have a different season this time. I want to end the season like this only," said Gurindervir.
Asked if he had any regrets, he said, "Not yet. But sometimes it happens. It was about my appearance. Someone told me something. I will tell you when the time comes. Right now, I am over it. I don't want to say anything now and will keep it a secret (for the time being)."
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu's C Reegan won the gold in the men's pole vault event with a national indoor best performance of 5.30m. He attempted the national record (combined outdoor and indoor) but failed to clear 5.41m in three attempts.
Dev Meena’s one-year-old national record of 5.40m remained intact.
The 24-year-old Reegan, competing in his maiden indoor event, opened with 4.95m and then 5.10m, before progressing to 5.20m and 5.30m.
"I just wanted to execute my plans. I am a bit disappointed that I could not achieve the national record, but I am improving," said Reegan, who joined Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre here in June last year.
"I can do better next time. I was training in Chennai for five years before joining Reliance."
His coach, Milber Bertrand Russell, said that Reegan was not used to the pole he used while attempting the national record.
"The pole he used to clear 5.30m cannot be used for the next height. It's a shorter length of 4.75m. We changed the pole. He used a longer pole of 4.90m length for the three attempts for the national record," Milber said.
"But he was using that longer pole for the first time."
Milber was also the coach of another Tamil Nadu pole vaulter, Baranica Elangovan, who set a new national record on Tuesday.
Results:
Men: 60m: Gurindevir Singh (Reliance) 6.60 seconds, Lalu Prasad Bhoi (Odisha) 6.65 seconds, Nuzrat (Haryana) 6.71 seconds.
400m: Mohammed Sinan (Reliance) 48.27 seconds, Muhammed Badusha (BSF) 49.83 seconds, Aryan Ekka (Odisha) 49.86 seconds.
1500m: Vinod Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 3:46.13 seconds, Jagdish (Air Force) 3:50.11 seconds, Sunil Yadav (Rajasthan) 3:50.56 seconds.
Triple jump: Vimal Mukesh (Navy) 15.41m, Robinson S (Tamil Nadu) 14.67m, Naresh Rohidas (Odisha) 13.92m.
Pole vault: Reegan G (Tamil Nadu) 5.30m, Rambeer Singh (Army) 4.85m, Bineesh Jacob (Railway) 4.55m.
High jump: Swadhin Kumar Majhi (Odisha) 2.18m, Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Maharashtra) 2.15m, Dhairyshil D (Maharashtra) 2.15m.
Women: 60m: Harita Bhandra (Maharashtra) 7.32 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 7.46 seconds, Trisha Nair (Maharashtra) 7.62 seconds.
400m: Kumari Saloni Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) 55.73 seconds, Sukhi Baskey (Odisha) 55.67 seconds, Unnathi Bollanda (Karnataka) 56.45 seconds.
Triple Jump: Mallala Anusha (JSW) 13.20m, Nimisha Dayma (JSW) 12.93m, Bhairabi Roy (West Bengal) 12.81m.
High jump: Payal Jamod (Gujrat) 1.71m, Kevinna Ashwine (Tamil Nadu) 1.71m, Pramilla Rajgar (West Bengal) 1.68m.