Athletics
Toor qualifies for Olympics in shot put with Asian record throw
India's Tajinderpal Singh Toor, the reigning Asian Games champion in men's shot put, has qualified for Tokyo Olympic Games with an Asian record throw of 21.49m in the Indian Grand Prix IV here on Monday. Toor's performance of 21.49m, a national record, bettered the Asian record of 21.13m as well as the qualifying mark of 21.10m. The 26-year-old's previous best was 20.92m.
Milkha Singh: The 'Bharat Ratna' of athletics didn't get his due
When I called up Milkha Singh, who was much more than an athletics legend, on the landline phone of his Chandigarh home in the first week of August 2001 to get his reaction on being picked belatedly for the Arjuna Award, he poured his heart out, without being one bit diplomatic. Milkha Singh, who passed away on Friday night aged 91, said he would have been happier with the Padma Bhushan for "lifetime achievement".
Olympic qualification: Indian women archers aim for bullseye
"There are three Tokyo Olympic Games quota places available in Paris. The competition is tough, but we are confident of a good performance," team coach Purnima Mahato told IANS. "There are 30 teams in fray for three quota places. The competition will start with the qualification round. In the final round there will be four top teams and only three will get the tickets for Tokyo," said Purnima.
When Milkha's name in Arjuna Awards' list created a furore
"It was strange that Milkha's name was included in the list of awardees. He should have been awarded way back in the early 1960s when he was an active athlete and not the lifetime achievements award in 2001. The whole episode was a big mistake on the part of the sports ministry," recalls Bahadur Singh, the 1982 Asian Games shot put champion.
Milkha's mantra: Cross-country running, climbing hill with stones
"Milkha Singh was a 400m runner but he could run hard and fast over a distance ranging from 5km to 10km in the months leading up to the main competitions. The endurance built through distance-running enabled him to run faster than others on the track," Bahadur Singh, the former chief national athletics coach, told IANS.
Indian Grand Prix athletics to be held on June 21
The AFI will also conduct the National Inter-State Athletics Championships from June 25 at the same venue. "The decision to organise IGP IV was taken to provide additional competition to Indian athletes as a 40-member team will not be competing in the upcoming T. Kolpakova International in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and the Qosanov Memorial meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan," AFI said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sifan Hassan shatters women's 10,000 metres world record
"Wow, to run this world record here on Sunday in Hengelo is something I could only dream of. It's the perfect confirmation of the hard work we've put in getting ready for the Tokyo Olympics. I am so happy to share this record in front of my Dutch fans. I am so happy," the 28-year-old Dutch distance runner said in a post-race interaction.
National Jr Athletics: Reshma breaks 2nd national record in 2 weeks
Reshma claimed the National u-20 Record when she made her debut in the 10,000m Race Walk in the Federation Cup Junior U20 Athletics Championships in Bhopal on January 26. The Dehradun girl had competition from Rupali (Uttar Pradesh) and Deepika Sharma (Rajasthan) but did well to pull away from her rivals to post a comfortable win.
4th Asian Youth Athletics Championships postponed
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said on Wednesday that the AAA has also informed member federations of the cancellation of the Asian Race Walking Championships scheduled for March 21 in Nomi, Japan.
USA women's 4x1500m world record ratified
The record was set in a low-key intra-squad competition on a high school track with few competitors and no spectators. With few competitive opportunities available to them during the main summer season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bowerman Track Club quartet took full advantage, averaging sub-4:07 legs to smash the previous record of 16:33.58 sec set by the Kenyan quartet of Mercy Cherono, Faith Kipyegon, Irene Jelegat and Hellen Obiri at the World Relays on May 25, 2014.
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