Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and long jumper Jeswin Aldrin lived up to their top billings as they clinched gold medals on the third day of the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. (More Sports News)
Both athletes, however, fell short of their personal best performances and also the Paris Olympics qualifying marks.
Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra will feature in the final of men's javelin throw event on the concluding day on Wednesday. He arrived Bhubaneswar in the evening.
Asian record holder Toor, representing Punjab, clinched the top spot with his third round throw of 20.38m, which was well below his personal best of 21.77m and Olympics qualifying mark of 21.50m.
Madhya Pradesh's Samardeep Singh Gill (18.93m) and Aryan Tyagi (18.07m) of Uttar Pradesh took the second and third places respectively.
"I faced some problems today but I feel by the time of National Inter-State Championships (June 27-30 in Panchkula) I will be able to qualify for the Olympics," the 29-year-old Toor said later.
In the long jump pit, national record holder Aldrin came up with a 7.99m jump in the final round to win the gold.
Muhammed Anees Yahiya of Kerala took the silver with 7.83m while Aditya Kumar Singh of Madhya Pradesh was third with 7.81m.
Earlier, national record holder Rosy Meena Paulraj as expected won the gold in women’s pole vault event with an effort of 4.05m.
The 26-year-old's effort, however, was well short of the national record of 4.21m she had set last year.
Her Tamil Nadu teammate Baranica Elangovan won the silver after clearing 4m while Mariya Jaison of Kerala was third with 3.90m effort.
