Jeswin Aldrin broke the national record with a jump of 8.42 metres to claim gold in men’s long jump here at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Vijayanagar. The silver was claimed by Muhammed Yahiya from Kerala with a jump of 7.85 metres, while the bronze medal went to Rishabh Rishishwar with a jump of 7.77 metres.
Aldrin looked on song from the first jump, starting with an effort of 8.05 metres followed by 8.26 metres and finally, shattered the record – previously held by Murali Sreeshankar – with a third jump of 8.42 metres. Speaking about his achievement Aldrin said, “I wanted to break the national record last year but unfortunately it ended up being a wind-assisted jump. I am happy that I finally broke the record at my home ground -the Inspire Institute of Sport. I am elated that the national record is now in my name.”
Later in the evening, IIS prodigy – Praveen Chithravel broke the meet record with a jump of 17.17 metres to clinch gold in the discipline. He erased the mark established by Eldhose Paul who came in the second spot with a jump of 16.61 metres. The bronze medal spot was grabbed by Abdulla Aboobacker with a jump of 15.93 metres ensuring that the IIS trio clinched all the spots on the podium.
Speaking of his performance Chithravel said, “I am happy with my jump but I wanted to break the national record. It’s unfortunate that it couldn’t happen, but it’s good that I won the competition at my home ground – IIS. I am looking forward to doing better in the upcoming competitions.”
In the men’s high jump, Sarvesh Anil Kushare from Maharashtra broke the meet record with a jump of 2.24 metres breaking C.Balasubramanya’s record of 2.09 metres to clinch gold. Silver was bagged by Uchchaal Kumar Roy from West Bengal with a jump of 2.08 metres while the bronze went to Swadhin Kumar Majhi from Odisha with a similar jump of 2.08.
Earlier in the day, more talents from IIS showcased their mettle. In the Women’s high jump, Rubina Yadav and Abhinaya Shetty both claimed the top spot with a jump of 1.74 metres, whereas the bronze went to Niranjana Sampath from Tamil Nadu with a jump of 1.60 metres.
In the women’s triple jump, Gayathry Sivakumar from Kerala clinched gold with a meet record of 12.98 metres. The silver went to R Punitha from Tamil Nadu with the best jump of 12.39, while IIS athlete Sharvari Parulekar clinched the bronze medal with a jump of 12.30 metres. (ANI)
