New Delhi, April 11 Odisha's star sprinter Animesh Kujur won the 100m dash in a photo finish after earlier winning the 200m title, taking the spotlight at the one-day Indian Athletics Series here on Saturday.
Kujur opened his outdoor season on the 'fast' Mondo track, winning the 200m race in the morning session with a time of 20.74 seconds, beating 400m national record holder Vishal T, who ran 21.01 seconds. Vishal T was representing NCOE Trivandrum.
Dharamveer Choudhary of Rajasthan clocked the third best time of 21.03 seconds. More than 50 athletes competed in the men's 200m race.
The 22-year-old Kujur was challenged by Tamil Arasu of Railways in the 100m dash, with both initially given the same time of 10.28 seconds. Later, the photo finish favored Kujur, who clocked 10.272 seconds compared to Tamil Arasu's 10.280 seconds.
Gurvindervir Singh, who won the 60m gold in the National Indoor Championships last month in Bhubaneswar, where Kujur was disqualified for a false start, finished third with a time of 10.40 seconds.
"The race was very close, but it's okay. This was the season opener (in outdoors), my first race. And I am happy with the timing," Kujur said later.
"This is the best timing for a season opener. Last year, I achieved 10.5 in the season opener, and this year, 10.28. It's good. I will perform well in the upcoming Federation Cup (in May) and the National Inter-State (in June)."
Asked about the recently-laid Mondo track at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kujur said, "This track is very fast. Mondo is very fast. Though I have competed on Mondo before outside the country, in Belgium and Monaco, this is my first outdoor race on Mondo in India."
"There is not much wind today."
Tajinderpal Singh Toor, a two-time Asian Games champion, threw 21.03m to win the men's shot put title. He holds the national record of 21.77m.
Pooja, a promising high jumper, raised the bar to win with a height of 1.90m, her personal best.
The excitement reached its peak in the evening session as the top three male javelin throwers crossed the 80m barrier in a battle of supremacy.
But it was Rohit Yadav's day, as he won the top position with an impressive throw of 82.17m. World Championships fourth-place finisher Sachin Yadav settled for second place with 81.95m, while Yashvir Singh was third with a throw of 81.61m.
In the men's quarter-mile event, national record holder Vishal TK took the top spot with a time of 45.44 seconds. His national record stands at 45.12 seconds.
Shaili Singh took the top spot in women's long jump with an effort of 6.24m, while Pariksha of Haryana was second with 6.10m. Shaili chose to have just three jumps out of six. Of these, one was a legal jump of 6.24m, while the other two were fouls. Mubassina Mohammed of Lakshadweep was third with 6.05m.
The women's 200m also saw mediocre performances, with Priyanka Sikarwar of All India Police finishing on top with a time of 23.91 seconds, while Unnathi Bollanda of Karnataka was second with 24.12 seconds.
Mohd Atta Sazid of Haryana won the men's long jump event with a distance of 7.86m.
Karnataka's Shailesh Kushwaha emerged winner in the men's 10000m race with a time of 30:01.08. Uttarakhand's Anu Kumar emerged on top in the men's 800m race, clocking 1:49.87.
The men's 110m hurdles was won by Muhammed Lazan of JSW Sports with a time of 14.23 seconds. C Anjali of JSW Sports finished on top in women's 100m hurdles in a 13.58 seconds.
Tanya Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh took the women's hammer throw with an effort of 61.29m.
Hima Das returns to track
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Asian Games medallist Hima Das of Assam returned to the tracks after two years but she could only clock 25.42 seconds in the 200m and 57.94 seconds in the 400m, placing her among the slowest in both races.
"This is my first competition (after two years), and I feel very good. I won't say I am 100% yet. I had a training session yesterday. I am slowly getting back to normal. I hope I can do better in the next competition," said Hima.
"I had a knee surgery in Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. The doctor did a good job to make me recover," said Hima, who had served a 16-month suspension for whereabouts failures between July 2023 and November 2024.
She said she is trying hard to qualify for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games later in the year.
"Of course, the Games are the aim of every athlete. The Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are very popular in India.
"I am trying hard. The season has just started. There are back-to-back Games coming up. I will be competing in the Federation Cup also (in May)."
Rashdeep Kaur of Punjab took the top spot in the women's 400m with a time of 53.10 seconds, while Aishwarya Mishra of Maharashtra and Priya Habbathanahal clocked second and third best times of 53.30 seconds and 54.24 seconds, respectively.
NADA conducts dope tests
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Dope sample collectors from the National Anti-Doping Agency were present at the event. Doping Control Officers (DCOs) were seen asking athletes to furnish dope samples after their events.