By Asian Games shot put champion Tajinderpal Singh Toor began his domestic season with a gold medal at the Indian Open Throws Competition 2023 in Bellary, Karnataka on Wednesday.
Toor, fresh from the Asian Indoor Championships gold medal in Kazakhstan last month, defended his title at the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) in Bellary with a new meet record of 19.95m.
In the process, Tajinderpal Singh Toor also breached the 19.00 mark, which is the qualifying standard for the Asian Games set by the Athletics Federation of India in men’s shot put.
Karanveer Singh, who won a silver medal at the Asian Indoor Championships, also made the cut for the Asian Games with a silver medal-winning effort of 19.54m. Sahib Singh’s 18.77m effort fetched him a bronze in the 10-man field.
Tajinderpal Singh Toor started with throws of 19.57m and 19.78m. The Tokyo Olympian fouled on his third and fourth attempts but got his best of 19.95m on the fifth attempt before ending with his lowest effort of 19.51m.
At the inaugural edition of the Indian Open Throws Competition held in Patiala last year, India’s national record holder hit the 19.94m mark.
Rio 2016 Olympian Manpreet Kaur, a former Asian Champion and national record holder, also crossed AFI’s qualifying mark of 16.30m for the Asian Games. She won the women’s shot put on Wednesday with a 16.73m throw. Abha Khatua (15.06m) won silver while Kachnar Chaudhary with a 14.34m effort won bronze among seven competitors.
Besides shot put, the day-long affair at the Indian Open Throws Competition 2023 saw men’s and women’s events held in the discus throw, hammer throw and javelin throw competitions.
The men’s javelin throw event, in the absence of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, was won by Kishore Jena with a 78.93m distance. He too made the cut for the Asian Games as the entry standard was set at 78.23m for men’s javelin throwers.
Karishma Sanil won the women’s event with 47.60m. Commonwealth Games and Asian Games bronze medallist Annu Rani did not compete.
The men’s and women’s discus throw events were won by Manjeet (51.24m) and Kalavathi Basappa Teli (44.83m), respectively. In the hammer throw, Yuvraj Jakhar (52.69m) emerged victorious in the men’s competition while Rekha’s 54.44m won the gold medal in the women’s event.
The Indian Open Jumps Competition 2023 will be held at the same venue on Thursday. Some of the best jumpers in the country, including Commonwealth Games champion in men’s triple jump Eldhose Paul, will be in action.
Indian Open Throws Competition 2023 medal winners
Shot put
Men: 1. Tajinderpal Singh Toor (19.95m); 2. Karanveer Singh (19.54m); 3. Sahib Singh (18.77m)
Women: 1. Manpreet Kaur (16.73m); 2. Abha Khatua (15.06m); 3. Kachnar Chaudhary (14.34m)
Javelin throw
Men: 1. Kishore Jena (78.93m); 2. Sarbjeet Singh (75.63m); 3. Abhishek Drall (73.51m)
Women: 1. Karishma Sanil (47.60m); 2. Hemamalini Neelakandan (45.78m); 3. Priya Attri (45.75m)
Discus throw
Men: 1. Manjeet (51.24m); 2. Praveen Kumar 50.88m; 3. Deepak Yadav (49.72m)
Women: 1. Kalavathi Basappa Teli (44.83m); Nandhini Vellaichamy (43.50m); 3. Sushma MN (42.98m)
Hammer throw
Men: 1. Yuvraj Jakhar (52.69m); 2. Dinesh S (52.32m); 3. Meraj Ali (51.71m)
Women: 1. Rekha (54.44m); 2. Manju Bala (53.83m); 3. Amreen (46.71m)
)
