Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 20 (PTI) Star sprinter Hima Das won the 200m race quite comfortably in 23.79 seconds while long jumper Ancy Sojan shared the limelight with a best effort of 6.49m in the Indian Grand Prix-1 athletics event here on Monday.

Assam’s Hima beat Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (24.81) of Maharashtra and VK Vismaya (24.82) of Kerala to take the women’s 200m gold at the Laxmibai National College of Physical Education here.

Sojan, meanwhile, produced a series of leaps beyond 6.00m and won with a best effort of 6.49m, just past the 6.45m mark laid down as the Asian Games qualifying standard.

The meet though received lukewarm response with very few top athletes competing in it. Many events had just three athletes competing. Women’s high jump and men’s triple jump saw just two competitors each, men’s 400m hurdles four, women’s 400m hurdles three — one disqualified later –, women’s shot put three, 800m women three and women’s 5000m three participants.

Haryana’s Krishan Kumar stepped up the pace approaching the halfway mark and topped the men’s 800m race, clocking 1:47.26, his second best time over the distance. The Army man went past the Asian Games qualifying standard of 1:49.05.

The men’s 5000m race saw three Uttar Pradesh runners come home inside the Asian Games qualifying mark of 14:00.00.

Abhishek Pal won in 13:51.14 — 2.15 seconds slower than his personal best — while Gulveer Singh clocked a personal best, improving on the earlier time of 14:02.50 and Mohammed Nur Hasan, known as a steeplechaser, marked his 25-lapper debut with an impressive 13:52.26.

Odisha javelin thrower Kishore Kumar produced only two valid tries but his effort of 81.05m was his career best, improving on the 78.93m in winning the National Open Throws Competition in Bellary this month.

DP Manu tried hard to dislodge him from the top spot and had two throws over 80m, but finished second. Both went past the Asian Games qualifying mark set by AFI.

Source: PTI News